A Whole New GameDuoBlading
by g3ssh0ku
Summary: The Bladebreakers are back for a new tournament coming up...what's this! New rules! What! We have to be teamed up with GIRLS! Plz R&R! anything accepted Complete
1. A New Kind of Tournament

Chapter 1: A New Kind of Tournament

"Finish him off, Esdraloon!"

The white and silver beyblade glowed brightly in response to its mistress's order. The beyblade gained speed as it got nearer to its prey. In one swift movement...

WHAM!

Esdraloon rammed into the opposing beyblade and sent it flying out of the demolished dish.

The opposing beyblade landed behind its owner exhausted and defeated.

The crowd exploded with cheers and applauses for the amazing battle that they had just wittnessed right before their eyes.

"And the winners for the Philippean Tournament are...the Sacred Stars!" Jazzman announced to everyone there and watching.

The crowd of fans cheered all the louder as the Sacred Stars stood on the platform in the middle of the arena. Each team member had a smile of victory on their faces while waving to all their supporting fans.

*********************************************

That night, the Sacred Stars celebrated their victory in their room at the hotel.

"Cheers!" as four glasses of punch clinked together.

"I have to admit, this tournament has been one of the most exciting we've been in so far," one of the girls stated who had sharp lavendar eyes.

"Yes, I must agree with Julie on that one," another commented who had deep cerulean eyes.

"I second on what Sophie said, but the competition was tougher than we thought they were," replied a girl with soft sky blue eyes.

"Yes that's true, but I knew we would pull through just fine. Karen, you and Julie did an exceptionally good job taking out your opponents. For that I'm proud of you both," the last girl said with pride in her voice who had piercing ebony black eyes.

The two girls smiled brightly at the compliment that their leader gave them. "Thanks Celia!" they said simultaneously.

*knock knock knock*

"Huh? Wonder who that could be?" they asked in unison as they looked at each other with questioning looks.

"I'll get it," Celia replied being the first to snap out of the wonder of who it might be.

Celia got up and casually walked over to the door. Julie, Karen, and Sophie soon followed after their leader, curious to know who it was.

Celia swung open the door to reveal...

"Mr. Dickenson!"

"Hello girls! How are you doing this beautiful, starry night? Oh! I see you're celebrating your latest victory!" Mr. D exclaimed.

"Come on in Mr. D and make yourself comfortable," Celia said stepping out of the way and ushering him inside.

"Why, I'd be delighted! I also have good news for you girls. That's if you want to know what it is," Mr. D asked the already excited girls. 'Telling them this will probably make them jump off the walls!' he thought with amusement in his eyes.

"Oh! What is it Mr. Dickenson? Is it another tournament?" Karen asked eagerly and excitingly. If there was one thing the Sacred Stars loved, it was to enter tournaments and battle the country's best.

"Actually, yes it is," Mr. D responded chuckling to himself.

The room was soon filled with cheers from all four girls as they heard there was going to be another tournament.

"When is it going to be Mr. Dickenson?" Sophie asked curiously wanting to know the answer. The others waited patiently hoping the answer was gonna be soon...very soon.

"Well, I'd say about two months from now," Mr. D. said answering the awaited question.

Once again the room filled with cheers as the girls couldn't wait to enter the tournament.

"Now, now girls settle down. I need to tell you where and what kind of tournament this is going to be," Mr. D. shouted trying to get the too excited girls to calm down. Boy did it work.

There was a long silence before a chorused "HUH?!" rang throughout the room. Soon there was a flurry of confusion as question after question came out of each of the three younger girls' mouths.

Celia was trying her best to calm everyone down rationally but failing terribly. Finally when she couldn't take it anymore, she put on her icy facade ususally only seen during battles, someone being rude to her, or someone picking on her teammates who she considered her sisters.

Yelling at the top of her lungs, she screamed, "QUIET!!!!!!!!!"

Everyone froze into place at hearing their leader yell so loudly, harshly, and most of all coldly. Each girl turned to look at Celia, almost too scared to look. They looked into her eyes and saw the coldness and harshness that one wouldn't even think that she could possess. After looking into her cold, hard eyes, each girl looked down shamefacedly. Even Julie couldn't look into Celia's hard glare for long and she was usually the tough one. Only Celia's glare could overpower hers and only hers was she ever afraid of.

Seeing their reaction, Celia softened immensely and walked over to the cowering girls. She squeezed in-between Sophie and Karen with Julie on the other side of Sophie. She gathered them into her arms as best as she could and tried to relax them further by saying, "I'm sorry," softly and comfortingly. Karen, Julie, and Sophie relaxed at hearing the gentle words and the comforting embrace.

"You guys should really stop over-reacting when you hear something new," Celia said jokingly with a hint of seriousness in her voice. Then she broke out into small giggles. The others started to giggle as well and saying "Sorry!" in unison.

"You girls are amazing. Its no wonder you're considered the best of the best," Mr. D. replied after watching the display of respect and love for their leader and among themselves.

"Oh! Mr. Dickenson! I almost forgot that you were still here!" Karen exclaimed upon hearing his voice.

"Well, I couldn't ruin the moment that you four just had. I'd feel out of place," Mr. D. replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Now that we've all settled down, please Mr. Dickenson, explain what you meant earlier," Sophie said casually with interest.

"Well now, let's see. This tournament shall take place in England. This tournament is no regular cookie. I personally arranged for it myself, since I am head of the BBA. I like to call it BeyDoubleBlade or DuoBlade for short," Mr. D. said proudly while looking at the confused faces of the girls.

"WHAT?!?!"


	2. The BeyDoubleBlade Tournament

Chapter 2: BeyDoubleBlade Tournament

"Bey_Double_Blade?!" the four girls exclaimed with confusion clearly written on their faces.

"That's right!" Mr. D. said highly amused by their behavior.

"But what is it supposed to mean? Explain Mr. D.," Julie asked almost demandingly to the very amused man sitting in front of them.

"Alright, Julie, alright. I'll explain. The reason its called DuoBlade is because there are partners. So basically there are four people blading at once. Each team entering must have at least seven people on the team, the max is ten. There is also another catch to it. I didn't make up this rule but the rest of the board seems to agree with it. You see, each pair must be boy and girl together. I don't know why the board wanted this new rule but they set everything down before they even informed me about it. But basically, the rest of the rules are the same," Mr. D. explained briefly to the four young girls.

Karen, Julie, and Sophie just sat there staring at Mr. D. not uttering a word. Celia, however, was thinking about something else, 'Where are we gonna find a team of guys that can live up to our standards?'

"Now, you are probably wondering where on earth are you going to find a team of guys worthy enough to be teamed up with you four. Especially in such a short amount of time. Well, have no worry, I have found the perfect team for you..."

****************************************************

It was now late at night. Mr. D. had long since left the Sacred Stars' room to his own room. Sophie, Karen, and Julie all fell asleep not so long after he left. Celia was still wide awake lying on her bed, unable to fall asleep. She couldn't help but keep thinking back to what Mr. D. had told them.

*~FLASHBACK~*

"This team should be worthy enough for your liking, Celia. They were World Champions not so long ago and still live up to their names. They call themselves the Bladebreakers..."

*~END FLASHBACK~*

'Mr. D. is smarter than he looks,' Celia thought while smiling. Of course she had heard about the Bladebreakers. She knew almost everything about them. After all, they are world famous.

'Hmm,' Celia thought while scrunching up her face, 'are they really worthy enough for our time...especially mine?'

The light of the full moon illuminated through the curtains of the glass sliding doors and landed on her worried, expressed face. She sighed, trying to relieve of herself the worry and concern growing inside. It didn't help much. She finally decided to get up and go outside on the balcony to get some fresh air. Dressed in traditional Chinese silk pajamas, she quietly walked over to the doors, slowly and quietly opened them, and closed them the same way behind her.

Celia inhaled deeply the fresh air that welcomed her instantly and exhaled slowly. She made her way to the railing and leaned on it, looking at the clear night sky filled with bright stars and the full moon. She closed her eyes and smiled as she felt a light wind blow around her, tossing her black hair that was just below her shoulders. She opened her eyes and looked at the twinkling stars, all worry and concern erased that was etched in her eyes.

'The night sky always did give me a comforting feeling,' Celia thought smiling softly. 'Being out here at night is like my sanctuary. Maybe that's why I named our team after them.'

Little did she know, her beyblade was hiding in the shadows watching her mistress with full concern. Esdraloon slowly made her toward Celia, knowing she would get noticed eventually. Not even a second went by as Celia heard a whirring noise of a spinning beyblade behind her. She turned around quickly, to see who could be spying on her. She relaxed when seeing her own blade spinning in a single spot on the floor. Celia smiled, knowing that Esdraloon followed her outside out of pure concern.

"Esdraloon, come," Celia commanded softly. She turned back around as the beyblade jumped up and landed on top of the flat railing still spinning. Suddenly, the blade began to glow a soft white and out came a miniature size white phoenix. These small moments were the only times Esdraloon ever came out of the blade. Even during battles, Esdraloon never came out cause there was no need for her to come out.

Celia, what's troubling you? Please tell me. Esdraloon asked with pure concern written in her eyes.

Celia looked at her bit beast for a moment, debating on whether to tell her or not. She decided against the latter because she knew Esdraloon would keep bugging her until she got a straight answer. "I'm just thinking about this DuoBlade tournament. I don't know why, but I have a feeling something might happen. I don't want to put the others in danger if something does happen. I'm excited that this tournament is coming up, but what I don't get is why we have to be paired up with guys. I think Mr. D. is holding us out on something," Celia explained briefly to her faithful bit beast.

You shouldn't be thinking that way. I think something good will come out of this new experience. Truthfully, I'm excited to be able to work with another bit beast. Besides, if anything should happen, we're here to protect you. Esdraloon responded reassuringly to Celia.

Celia looked her bit beast for moment before smiling warmly to her. "Thank you Esdraloon. I'm feeling a lot better now. Better get to sleep. We leave tonight at nine o'clock and we have a lot of packing and work to do," Celia said with a small smile.

Good night Celia. Sleep well. Esdraloon said returning back inside the beyblade.

"Good night Esdraloon," Celia said picking up her blade. Taking one last look at the beautiful night sky, Celia headed back inside. clutching Esdraloon in her hand.

'I hope your right Esdraloon. I hope your right...'


	3. Accidents Become Coincidents

Chapter 3: Accidents Become Coincidences

Early Sunday morning at around nine o'clock, a plane landed at the Tokyo airport. Four girls walked out of the plane yawning and stretching, glad to get off the plane.

"How about we get our stuff, find the hotel, and then find something to eat?" a girl with black hair asked her fellow companions.

"YEAH!!"

*****************************************************************

Meanwhile...

*snore*snort*snore*mumble*snore*snort*snore*mumble*

A young boy at the age of fifteen was once again sleeping in. Unfortunately, the young navy blue haired teen was late, but it seems that he has forgotten that her had to meet with his friends soon. Then the door to his room opened and in came an old man with a youthful spirit, holding a kendo stick. He walked over to the still slumbering boy and stood next to him. He nudged the boy with his foot but the boy was still sleeping like a log.

"Tyson," the man said still nudging him with his foot.

"Tyson!" the man said louder and nudging him harder.

"*mumble* No! I don't...to get...*mumble*"

The old man started to get frustrated and started to push Tyson back and forth. For a final attempt, he got close to Tyson's ear and...

"TYSON!!!!!!!"

"AHH!!!" Tyson yelled jumping up in his bed. He was still sleepy and started to look around his room with groggily eyes. Then he heard someone laughing. He turned to face the laughing man and an angry expression crossed his face.

"Grandpa! Why'd you go and do that for?!" Tyson whined while trying to go back to sleep.

"I just wanted to tell ya that Andrew called and he's waiting for you at the park!" the old man said to Tyson who was trying to get back to sleep while processing what he said with a still foggy mind. At the sound of Andrew's name, Tyson bolted up, got dressed, grabbed his beyblade, and ran out the door in record timing.

"That boy will never change," Tyson's grandfather said with a light chuckle. 'And I hope he never will..."

*********************************************************

"OH!!!!!" Tyson yelled out furiously. "The guys are gonna kill me!"

He was speeding through the streets, hoping he wasn't that late for his beyblade match. As se was turning a corner, he saw somebody walking in his direction rounding the corner too. Unable to stop himself, Tyson collided into the person and making both fall on their rear ends. Tyson, sitting of the ground, was rubbing his behind as pain was starting to build up inside. He didn't notice the hand that offered to help him up until he heard a melodic voice ask him a question.

"Are you alright?"

Tyson looked up to see who it was and found himself looking into the most beautiful sky blue eyes he had ever seen.

The girl looked at him strangely since he didn't answer her question. She decided to ask again. "Are you okay?" she asked with a worry tone in her voice.

As if coming back down to earth, Tyson snapped out of his reverie. "Uh...yeah! I'm fine!" Tyson said cheerfully taking the sapphire blue haired girl's hand. Surprising him, she was able to help him up with ease.

"I'm sorry that I got in your way," the girl said apologetically.

"Aw, don't worry about it! I'm fine, really!" Tyson said with a smile. "By the way, my name's Tyson. What's yours?" Tyson asked while sticking his hand out.

"I'm Karen, a pleasure to meet you," Karen answered happily, taking his hand in a friendly handshake.

"Yeah, you too!" They let go of each others hands.

"So where are you going in such a rush?" Karen asked musingly.

"Oh! I was just going to a...AHH!!! I'm gonna be late for the match!!" Tyson yelled out. Then he looked at Karen who was just standing there looking at him. "I'm sorry, but I really have to get going," Tyson said apologetically while scratching the back of his head.

"Oh! That's all right. I have to get going too. It was nice meeting you though," Karen responded cheerily.

"Yeah! Maybe I'll see you around sometime," Tyson said, turning to leave.

'Oh you have no idea Tyson. No idea...' Karen thought, smiling. "See you around!" She waved at the retreating boy. Tyson turned back around and waved back at her. Then he sped around the corner.

"We'll meet each other sooner than you think Bladebreaker..." Karen said to herself as she walked to catch up with the others who were way ahead of her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey…well this is just a little author's note for you…not much to say though except thanks for the review…they mean a lot to me…and this fic is various pairings…just to tell you…but you'll find out soon enough…but I gots to go sooo…later…lonelistar05


	4. A Surprising Invitation

Chapter 4: Surprising Invitation

Four boys were waiting in the park for their very late friend. Suddenly they saw a blur run past the entrance gate and then rallied back to the open gate.

"Tyson! You made it!" a blond haired, blue eyed boy yelled to his old teammate.

"Even though you are late, Tyson," another boy with auburn hair and a pair of glasses on top of his head.

"I'm sorry Chief! I just overslept again, that's all!" Tyson whined to his old teammate.

"Don't worry about it Tyson. Kenny's glad that you're finally here," the blond haired boy responded cheerfully.

"Hey Max! Its been a while," Tyson said happily to the young blond. Max smiled cheekily.

"So Tyson, now that you're finally here...let's get this battle started," another boy said that was towering over Tyson with his beyblade thrusted outward.

"Been ready for you Andrew," Tyson stated confidently getting his beyblade.

They walked over to the wok that was set up for them, each taking opposite sides. They got into position, ready to launch their beyblades. Max, standing between Tyson and Andrew, was acting like the DJ.

"Bladers...ready! 3...2...1...LET IT RIP!!!"

At that, Tyson and Andrew ripped their cords and sent their blades flying. White and purple beyblades were clashing into each other sending sparks every where with each clash.

With Andrew not having a bit beast of his own yet, Tyson already had the upper hand. But Tyson considered everyone a worthy opponent, even if they didn't have a bit beast.

"Dragoon! Storm Attack!" Tyson yelled to his white beyblade. His blade glowed blue as it started to pick up speed and going along the sides, trapping the purple blade.

"Oh no!" Andrew yelled worriedly. He watched on as his blade was engulfed by the wind storm.

"This match is over!" Tyson said with a triumphant smile.

Andrew looked down disappointingly as his blade flew out of the wok and landed in front of him, not spinning. He bent down and picked up his blade and gripped it in his hand. He looked up at his long time friend with a smile on his face. "Good match Tyson," Andrew said standing up straight, "but I'll get you next time!"

"I'm ready for you whenever you are," Tyson said.

"What an excellent match for a short one," a voice said behind Tyson.

Everyone froze at the new voice. They turned to the direction of the new voice and saw standing behind Tyson was...

"Mr. Dickenson!"

"Good to see you boys again!" Mr. D. exclaimed happily.

"Great to see you too, Mr. D." Tyson responded happily.

"Hey! Don't forget about me!"

"Huh?! Whose that?!" Tyson asked wondering who said that. At that, a boy with black hair and golden cat-like eyes stepped out from behind Mr. D.

"Ray!" Tyson exclaimed running over to his old teammate. Kenny and Max also ran over to their former teammate and good friend.

"Hey Ray! How ya been?" Max asked cheerily.

"I've been doing good," Ray replied with a smile on his face.

"How's Mariah and the rest of the White Tigers? I heard you and Mariah got together a while back," Max asked with a sly smile on his face. Ray blushed a bit at hearing his girlfriend's name. "Uh...she's doing fine and so are the others."

"That's good to hear. Now, what are you two doing here?" Tyson asked curious to know.

Before Mr. D. could explain, Kenny interrupted. "Wait! Shouldn't Kai be here? He was our leader and since the Bladebreakers are back together, I'm guessing this has something to do with all of us."

Mr. D. smiled. "Not to worry Kenny. He's standing behind you."

The four boys turned around and saw their old leader, Kai. He still looked the same as did the others. Blue hair with slate gray bangs, white scarf around his neck, black sleeveless top, baggy blue pants and red arm guards. His face still had the two sets of blue triangles and the same scowl he always held.

"Hey Kai. How long have you been standing there?" Max asked the older boy.

"Hmph! Look, I don't have time for little reunions. Just say what you need to say, old man, so that I can get back to my business," Kai said ever so coldly.

Mr. D. just looked at the boys as all eyes were on him. "Very well Kai. How would you boys like to enter a tournament?"

All the boys faces lit up like a Christmas tree, for the exception of Kai.

"Are you serious?!" Ray asked excitedly.

"Of course I am Ray! Why else would I come to get you all together," Mr. D. said with a smile of amusement on his face.

"This is gonna be so awesome!" Tyson exclaimed.

"Think is of all the bladers we'll meet!" Max said happily.

"Think of all the data Dizzi and I could collect!" Kenny said excitingly.

Even Kai couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes at entering a tournament. But there was something odd. For some strange reason, he felt that this tournament would be different than all the others.

"Now, now boys, let's me explain something to you first," Mr. D. said getting the boys to quiet down. All of them paid close attention to what the head of the BBA had to say. "This will be no regular tournament that you've entered before. Most of the rules and regulations are the same but the board has added a couple of rules. A team must have seven to ten members. The reason for this is because you have to pair up in each match. Hence the name I've given it...BeyDoubleBlade," Mr. D. briefly explained to the young group of boys.

Each boy was staring at the old man too shocked to say anything. Kai, on the other hand, was thinking about something else. 'Bet there's more to it then that.'

"However, your partners must be a team of girls," Mr. D. said adding tot he shock.

'Hmph! Knew it. The only thing left is...where are we gonna find a team of girls?' Kai thought.

"Now you're probably wondering where you are gonna find a team of girls good enough for you. Well look no further. I have already found the perfect team. In fact I have made reservations at the Tokyo restaurant downtown so that you can meet them," Mr. D. informed them.

"You mean they're already here?!" Tyson exclaimed to Mr. D.

"Of course! They arrived this morning," Mr. D. said calmly.

"Wicked! So what time do we need to be at the restaurant?" Tyson asked eagerly hoping it would be soon.

"Dinner will be at seven o'clock but I want you boys to arrive a little bit earlier than that. Say about 6:45," Mr. D. answered.

"Why do we need to get there early, Mr. D.?" Ray asked curiously.

"The leader is very punctual. She hates it when people are late meeting her at a certain place. Plus it's rude to keep ladies waiting," Mr. D. answered honestly to Ray. "Well boys, I believe that's it. You have a couple of hours left to start packing. We leave tomorrow for England at 10:00 am. Be sure to inform your families about the tournament. I will see you all tonight at dinner," Mr. D. said taking his leave.

"This is gonna be so cool!" Tyson said to his teammates.

"I wonder who this team is. Mr. D. didn't even tell us the team's name," Kenny said quite disappointed.

"Don't worry Chief. We're meeting them tonight. Right now, I think you guys should get packing," Ray said.

"You're right Ray. Well, see you guys tonight!" Max said leaving.

"Ray, you can come over to my place until dinner," Tyson offered to the Chinese boy. "Sure!"

"Hmph. Ray, make sure he's not late," Kai said taking his leave as well.

"Don't worry Kai," Ray said to his leader's retreating back. He and Tyson looked Kenny. "Well, Chief, we'll see you later!" Tyson said to the young boy. With that Ray and Tyson went toward one direction and Kenny went toward another.


	5. Bladebreakers Meet Sacred Stars

Well hey! I'm back again with another chapter! Thanks to all those who reviewed! I greatly appreciate it! It helps me get motivated to keep on writing! So keep those reviews going if you guys want me to finish this story. Well...enough of me babbling...on with the story!

Oh yeah! I haven't done this with my other chapters but unfortunately I don't own BeyBlade but I do own all the other characters that you aren't familiar with and I appreciate it if you don't use any of my characters without my permission. I put a lot of thought into my characters and especially the bit beast's names. (Those are hard to figure out!) But anyway...here you go!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 5: Bladebreakers Meet Sacred Stars

That night, the boys got ready to go meet their partners for the tournament. All of them arrived on time. Even Tyson was there early because he really wanted to meet their new teammates and he was REALLY hungry.

Meanwhile, four girls were debating on what to where to meet with the infamous Bladebreakers.

"Hmm...do you guys wanna dress up or look casual?" a black haired girl asked.

"Come on Celia! These are the Bladebreakers we're going to meet!" a girl with sapphire blue hair exclaimed.

"But still Karen. I don't wanna dress up too formally! Besides, it'll probably be a waste of time!" a girl with silver blonde hair complained.

"I agree with Julie. I think we should look nice but casual," a light turquoise haired girl said logically.

"But Sophie!" Karen whined to the youngest member.

"No buts Karen! Majority rules," Celia said firmly with a smile on her face.

"Hmph! You're no fun!" Karen said, pouting.

"Now that that's settled, we better hurry up or we'll be late!" Celia exclaimed to her teammates. With that, the four girls rushed around the room trying to find something decent to wear. When they left the hotel it was 6:45. That gave them fifteen minutes to get to the restaurant. They called for a taxi and got on their way.

At the restaurant...

"OH MAN!!!! I'M SOOOO HUNGRY!!!!!!!!!!!" Tyson yelled in the restaurant causing many people to look at the impatient teen.

"Calm down Tyson! Don't worry! It's almost seven," Ray said calmly.

"Actually Ray, it is seven," Kenny said looking at his watch.

"So where are they, old man? I thought you said the leader likes to be punctual," Kai said getting annoyed and a little bit impatient.

"They should be arriving..."

"...right now," a voice said cutting off Mr. D.

All the boys looked up to see who said that. They saw before them four pretty looking young ladies standing there looking at them.

"Good evening Bladebreakers," the girl with black hair said in a icy like voice.

The Bladebreakers looked at her and immediately knew, somehow, that she was the leader. She wore a baby blue three-quarter, v-neck shirt with a white tank underneath showing a little bit from the v-neck. Her pants were white as well that flared out to cover her white shoes which still showed a bit. She had dark ebony black eyes that could pierce through the person's very soul.

The girl standing on her left had long sapphire blue hair and soft, cheerful sky blue eyes. She was wearing a baby blue shirt as well that was sheer-like. The front part over-lapped each other that showed her white tank and her sleeves were cap-sleeved but had a slit. She had on a white jean skirt that went to her mid-thigh with two slits on the side and had white sandals.

On the other side of the assumed leader was a girl with silver blond hair that went past her shoulders a bit. She had sharp lavender eyes that immediately said she wasn't too excited. She also had a short-sleeved, simple baby blue shirt with white pants and white tennis shoes.

The girl next to her was shorter than the rest and so the guys assumed that she was the youngest. She had shoulder length light turquoise hair and deep cerulean eyes. She wore a shirt similar to the silver blond's and had on loose fitting white Capri's with white slippers. Under her right arm appeared to be a black laptop.

Each boy observed each girl and vice versa. Tyson, however, was particularly interested in one of the girls. He was staring at the sapphire blue haired girl and suddenly exclaimed, "Aren't you Karen?"

The girl with sky blue eyes responded calmly, "Yes I am Tyson. We met sooner than you thought."

"Whoa! I met our own teammate before i even knew about it," Tyson said slightly awed.

"Right," Celia said with slight annoyance in her voice. "Well, shall we commence with this meeting?"

"Yes! Please girls, sit down," Mr. D. offered to the girls that were still standing.

"Thank you," the youngest looking one said.

"Well now, I think introductions are in order. Boys, you start first," Mr. D. said looking at the guys.

"Okay! My name's Tyson," a boy with navy blue hair said.

"I'm Ray," the black haired boy said.

"Max. Nice to meet you," the blond boy said with a big smile on his face.

"I'm Kenny also known as Chief," the boy with auburn hair said.

"Kai," the blue haired boy said obviously not happy to be here.

The girl with black hair narrowed her eyes slightly at hearing the coldness in his voice. 'Two can play at that game.'

As each of the boys were introducing themselves, the girl with the laptop was typing something into it. When she finished, her face lit up like a light.

"I guess it's our turn. My name is Karen," the long sapphire blue haired girl said happily.

"Julie," the silver blond said with a hint of coldness in her voice.

"Sophie," the girl with the laptop said.

"The name is Celia," the girl with black hair said with some attitude mixed with it.

As the girls were introducing themselves, Kenny was typing on his laptop as well, but when he was done, he didn't exactly get what he wanted and looked down disappointingly.

"Trying to find our data?" Sophie asked knowingly.

Kenny looked up at the sudden question of the obvious intelligent girl and then looked down embarrassed and trying to hide his blush. Luckily his bangs hid most of it. He nodded as his reply.

Sophie smiled a bit. "I'm not surprised. Not very many people have our personal information, but maybe giving you our team name will get you somewhere. We're the Sacred Stars," she said proudly.

"What?!" Kenny and Ray exclaimed with shocked looks on their faces. Even Kai showed amazement at hearing the team name. Tyson and Max, however, were totally clueless.

"Kenny, what's up? Do you know who they are?" Tyson asked wanting to know the answer.

"Tyson...you mean you've never heard about them?" Ray asked incredulously.

"No...should I?" Tyson asked kind of confused.

"Tyson, they are the best all girls team in the world! They dominate in every tournament they have ever entered. They are considered the best of the best and they only started just two years ago!" Kenny explained. He then began typing into his computer and looked at the data that he had about them.

"Hmm...I don't have very much data on you all, but it says here that Eikurin is Sophie's siren bit beast, Eczelon is Julie's black wolf bit beast, Entranza is Karen's dragon bit, and Esdraloon is Celia's bit which is for some reason is unknown because it has never been seen is a battle," Kenny said reading the data.

"Never been seen in battle?! Ever?!" Max exclaimed asking an already answered question.

"Never," Celia said calmly and proudly.

"Hmph. You better check your data again, Chief because I seriously doubt that."

All eyes were on Kai as he just sat there, arms crossed and eyes closed.

"What do you mean by that, may I ask?" Celia asked calmly with attitude.

"I don't believe that you bit beast has never been seen by the public before. That's impossible," Kai stated coldly.

Celia looked at him through narrowed eyes. "So are you accusing me of being a liar?" she asked hotly trying to suppress her anger from showing.

"Of course I am. There is now way of beating a high ranking blader without calling out your bit beast. No one has that much power," Kai stated even more coldly than before.

"Well then, how about I demonstrate just how powerful my blade really is," Celia replied standing up and getting close to his face as far as she could.

Kai stood up still looking into her eyes. "All right then. Let's take it outside," he responded with slight anger in his voice. His face was dangerously close to hers, almost as if they were about to kiss if the look on their faces didn't scream out hatred toward each other.

The Bladebreakers and Sacred Stars were looking at their captains and then at each other with worried looks. Ray and Karen decided to intervene so as not to cause trouble between the two teams.

"Celia, chill. He's just trying to get under your skin. Don't let him get to you so easily," Karen whispered to Celia trying to calm her leader down.

"Kai, come on. We don't want any trouble during this partnership. If we do, then we won't get very far in the tournament," Ray reasoned with his cold captain.

Both leaders listened to what their teammates said and then sat back down. The rest of the group were relieved that Ray and Karen stopped them before something ugly happened.

During the whole thing, Mr. D. was just sitting there listening to everything that was happening. He had a very amused look on his face while waiting patiently for his chance to say what he needed to say. When they finally quieted down be began, "So are you satisfied with the team I've partnered you up with Celia?"

Celia turned to look at him and stared for a minute. She sat back and crossed her arms and legs and said, "Well...I must admit, Mr. Dickinson, you're smarter than you look. No offense."

"None taken. So you are okay with being partnered with the Bladebreakers?"  


"That's another way pf putting it."

"Wonderful! I'm so glad you agree. I'm sure Kai has no objections," Mr. D. said happily, looking over to the blue haired teen.

"Hmph. Whatever. Although I must admit, I agree with the attitude queen over there," Kai responded referring to Celia. He earned himself a glare from her.

"Splendid! I'm sure you all will get along eventually. Now, you all know your flight leaves tomorrow at 10:00 am, right?" At everyone's nod, he continued, "The proceeding night, which is Tuesday night, the organization is holding a banquet for all competitors. It's formal so dress nicely. This gives you a chance to check out the competition. Unfortunately, I will not be there myself, but I will arrive before the tournament begins. I trust that you will be on your best behavior, after all, England is the home of royalty," he explained briefly to them. He looked at the attentive faces and smiled brightly. "I believe that's everything. Now time to eat," Mr. D. said motioning for a waiter.

"FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!" Tyson exclaimed loudly.

Everyone except Kai laughed at his eagerness and each ordered what they wanted. Celia looked over at Kai and saw him looking at her. They stared at each other with one thought...'This is gonna be one hell of a tournament.'

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Finally I finished this chapter! I believe this is my longest one yet! Well, R&R and I'll have the next chapter for you as soon as I can!

later,

lonelistar05


	6. Unwanted Surprises

Well...here I am with another chapter...took me a while to think about it, but I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks to those who reviewed me. They mean a lot. Well...enough of me talking.......on with the fic!

Oh! I don't own BeyBlade just my OC's.

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Chapter 6: Unwanted Surprises

The following morning both teams made it to the airport with fifteen minutes to spare. Even Tyson made it early all thanks to Ray when he spent the night and woke up at six o'clock in the morning.

"Ugh...Ray, you are so going to get it when I'm all rested up," Tyson groggily said to the taller boy with a tired look on his face. The others, except for Kai who looked on with disgust, laughed at his tired, baggy face.

"Well, we should really get ready to get on the plane, "Kenny said after calming down.

"Oh that reminds me...here are our tickets. Mr. Dickinson gave them to us last night before he left. Here you go," Sophie stated giving each person their ticket.

"Hey Sophie, how about we sit together to exchange information and think up strategies," Kenny offered not helping the tinge of blush that ran across his face.

Sophie giggled at that. "Sure, why not."

"I don't care where I sit as long as I get the window," Karen stated getting anxious to leave.

"Me too. I love the window seat," Celia said to Karen and whoever else that was listening. Unfortunately for her, someone else was listening.

"Hmph! Looks like attitude queenie has a soft spot after all under all the cold attitude," Kai replied smirking.

"Hmm...I'm not the only one Kai," Celia remarked crossing her arms, a smirk on her face.

Kai raised an eyebrow at her. "And what's that suppose to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Celia responded mysteriously to the arrogant blader.

"Attention. Flight 281 to London, England is about to depart. All passengers please board the plane now."

"That's our flight. Come on! Let's get going before we miss it," Karen said happily dragging along her fellow teammates.

Getting on the plane, Celia, Karen, Julie, and Sophie all immediately grabbed the window seats leaving the boys deciding who would sit with who. Ray, deciding quickly, took the last window seat available, therefore sitting by himself. Kenny went to go sit next to Sophie who was in front of the rest of the girls. Next Max decided to sit next to Julie, right behind Kenny. Tyson hastily sat next to Karen to try to get to know her more. That left Kai sitting next to the attitude queen. He growled slightly at his teammates but sat down nonetheless.

When the plane had finally taken flight, Kenny and Sophie began chatting about information and possible strategies to use. Kenny introduced Dizzi to her and she was surprised that a bit beast could get trapped in a computer.

"So Kenny, how long have you been collecting data?" Sophie asked with interest.

"Ah...well, I guess most of my life. I practically live to collect data on beyblades," Kenny answered earnestly not helping the slight blush across his cheeks.

"That's nice. I've been collecting data ever since I started to beyblade which hasn't been very long. I thought I was really good, but when I met the others, I was wrong. I saw that there was even more that I needed to improve and update on all my data. I vowed to myself to get as much information as I could about beyblades and bit beasts," Sophie said with a sort of far away look in her eyes. Kenny just smiled at her warmly.

***

"So...uh...you're Julie, right?" Max asked cheerily with nervousness evident in his voice.

"Yeah, that's right. Max, correct?" Julie asked not even looking at him. In reality, she could see him through the reflection of the window. She smiled inwardly at seeing his face light up.

"Yeah! I'm Max. So, are you excited about the tournament? I know I am!" Max excitedly said not as nervous as before.

Finally she turned to face him with a slight smile on her face. "Yeah, I am. I just wanna see what we're up against. I'm not looking forward to Celia's training sessions though," she replied with a soft look on her face. 'What's up with me? Why aren't I pushing him away?'

"That's cool. I'm not looking forward to Kai's sessions either," Max said with a light giggle.

Julie smiled openly. Max, seeing her radiant smile, blushed a bit and smiled too. "Looks like we're not looking forward for a rough practice," Julie said giggling. "Yeah," Max said giggling as well.

***

"So Karen, how have you been?" Tyson asked.

"I'm fine, Tyson. You doing okay?" Karen asked with a bright smile on her face.

Tyson blushed a bit. "I'm okay. How come you didn't tell me that you were a Sacred Star when we first met?" Tyson asked curiously.

"Oh what kind of fun is that letting you know before hand. That wouldn't be fair to the others, now would it?" Karen asked with a smirk-like smile on her face.

"No, I guess not. So how long have you beybladed?" Tyson asked wanting to get to know her more.

"Well..." Karen began telling her tale, while Tyson listened intently.

***

Celia and Kai sat with their arms crossed not looking at each other. Celia was looking out the window, deep in thought. 'Can we really work as a team? Seems like the others are getting along great. This may be difficult because Kai and me aren't exactly getting along. I must admit though, he is cute.' A light tinge of pink came across her face at the thought.

Kai sat there with his eyes closed, also deep in thought. 'Hmm...we're gonna have to pair up people to compete. We have plenty of time for training. Celia and I need to get together and somehow work up a schedule. I doubt that we'll last five minutes together without arguing.' Kai opened his eyes a bit to look at Celia. He raised an eyebrow to see that she had a tinge of blush on her face. 'Wonder what she's thinking about?' Kai thought with a smirk on his face.

"What are you smirking about?"

"Huh?" Kai snapped out of his train of thought.

"I asked you what you were smirking about?" Celia repeated in an agitated voice.

"And how would you know that I was smirking?" Kai asked with a glint of attitude in his voice.

"Uh...hello?! Reflection on the window," Celia snapped back at him while turning to look at him.

"Oh! I didn't think you would take fond of looking at me. I know I'm good looking but you don't have to resort to looking at the reflection to get a glance of me," Kai retaliated back at her not hiding the smirk of superiority from her.

"Ha! I'm surprised that I'm not dead yet at looking at a mere glance of you. I never said you were good looking anyway, conceited jerk," Celia snapped back while half lying through her teeth about the last line, looking straight ahead of her.

"Hmph! You're not a looker yourself seeing as everybody would run away at the mere sight of you," Kai shot back with a smug look on his face.

"I don't have a need to impress anybody. Why should I bother making myself attractive when there isn't anybody worthy enough to impress," Celia simply said , stating one of her life's philosophies. She turned to look at him to see that he had his eyes closed. After a minute of not saying anything, she knew that she won that battle. 'But the war is far from over.' Celia thought with a smile of victory on her face.

***

Ray sat behind everyone else and watched on with an amused look on his face. He saw friendships forming and maybe even more for certain pairs. He looked at the two captains and chuckled slightly. It was gonna take a lot to get those two to get along. 'This is gonna be interesting...'

***********************************************************

"Whoa! Check this place out!" Tyson exclaimed looking at the grand hotel that they were gonna stay in.

"This place is quite the establishment. It's where all the beybladers competing in the tournament are going to stay at," Kenny voiced in his knowledge of the hotel.

"So we get to meet the other bladers? Wicked!" Tyson exclaimed already thinking of the possible competition.

"Let's just go in and find our rooms. I'm kind of tired," Celia replied having an annoyed look. The others nodded in agreement, heading inside. Everyone gasped, for the exception of Kai, at the sight before them. There were people everywhere, either checking in or getting to their rooms. People were mingling with each other, becoming friends and chatting away. The group looked on with fascination at the competition before them.

"Hey guys," Kenny said getting everyone's attention. "Sophie and I are gonna go check-in. We'll be back in a minute." Kenny turned to Sophie who nodded and left to go to the reception desk with him. Celia, Karen, and Julie slightly surprised by this looked at each other and smiled as if knowing what each other were thinking. The boys were just checking out the competition when Tyson suddenly busted out, "Hey! Is that Robert?!"

"Hmm?!" Everyone turned toward the direction that Tyson pointed out to. All they could see over the tops of the crowd was purple hair. As the crowd started to diminish, they began to see the face of the blader. "Hey Robert!!" Tyson yelled across the room while waving his arms frantically in the air.

Robert was waiting for his teammates when suddenly he heard someone shout his name. He turned toward the direction where he heard his name being called. He gave a slight smile at who he saw. "Tyson!" he called. A group of people ran toward the older teen. "And the rest of the Bladebreakers! What a surprise!"

"Hey Robert! Good to see you again!" Tyson exclaimed shaking his hand.

"And a pleasure to see you again. I suppose you're here to compete in the tournament, right?" Robert asked, most likely knowing the answer.

"Of course! And here are our partner team, the Sacred Stars," Ray introduced to the European blader. Robert's eyes widen considerably at hearing that team name and looked behind the boys to indeed see three girls standing there with slightly amused faces.

"Are you guys serious?"

Everyone turned their direction behind Robert. They were surprised to see Johnny, Enrique, and Oliver there waiting for an answer. At that moment, Kenny and Sophie ran up to them with keys to their rooms. They stopped to catch their breath and Kenny looked up first. "Hey! The Majestics are here! What a surprise!"

"Hey Kenny! I was wondering where you went," Oliver replied to the younger boy.

"We were just checking-in. I guess you met the Sacred Stars, so who are you partnered with?" Kenny asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"We're partnered up with a group called the Mystics. They have some sweet moves but I gotta admit that since you guys are paired up with them, we might have some trouble," Enrique responded in a as-a-matter-of-fact way.

"As much as I like getting compliments, I would like to get some rest please," Celia said in a flat tone, not caring about the bladers before her. Hell, she was tired and wanted to sleep!

"Oh! Uh...sorry about that Celia. I guess we'll see you guys at the banquet tomorrow night, right?" Kenny asked with interest.

"Yeah. We'll be there," Oliver replied cheerily.

"See you guys later," Enrique called out to the group as he and the other members of the Majestics left to go to their rooms.

Kenny and Sophie turned to look at the group. "Um...before we go to the rooms, Mr. Dickinson left us a message," Kenny started before the group.

"And that would be?" Julie asked somewhat coldly. "Uhh..." Kenny started nervously under her stare.

"He wants certain people to room together," Sophie began, saving Kenny from having a nervous breakdown. "He wants Kenny and me to room together so we can discuss about the other teams and try to think of ways to improve your beyblades. He also wants Kai and Celia to room together because as being the captains, you two need to come up with the training schedule and discuss different situations among yourselves," Sophie reasoned. She was very hesitant in saying the reason why Kai and Celia had to room together, knowing what their reaction would be but it had to be said. She awaited the outburst.

Celia just stood there with a shocked expression on her face. She understood why Kenny and Sophie had to room together cause they may work all night on the blades, but Kai and her?! That was uncalled for! They could just perfectly talk to each other during the day. Kai on the other hand was acting the same way as Celia. He was shocked and surprised. 'Why would Mr. Dickinson want these kinds of arrangements?' Kai thought curiously. All in all both team captains had the same response......."WHAT?!"

***********************************************************

"Hmph! I can't believe Mr. D. wanted these kinds of arrangements!" Celia muttered to herself angrily. Both her and Kai were in their room unpacking their belongings. She was thankful that Kai didn't protest against her claiming the bed closest to the balcony. In between their beds was a small night stand with a lamp and a digital clock. Next to the doors that lead to the balcony was a four drawer dresser. Not too far was the door that lead to the bathroom. Near that was a square table with only two chairs. On the right side of Kai's bed was a small closet where Kai was currently occupying. he was hanging some of his clothes in there leaving some room for Celia as well.

When Kai was finished, he turned around to see Celia sitting on her bed waiting ever so patiently to put her things away in the closet. He moved towards his bed where his bag was and made his way to the dresser. Seeing this, Celia picked up her things and went over to the closet. When Kai finished, he went over to his bed and just stood there with his arms crossed looking at Celia's back.

"Let's get something straight, shall we Kai?" Celia asked suddenly with hints of sarcasm in her voice. Kai raised an eyebrow at her in question as she turned around to face him. She looked right into his eyes and saw the questioning glare. "Look," she started, "I'll leave you alone if you leave me alone. We will only have to talk to each other for training and strategizing, is that clear? I only agreed to this partnership for the tournament. Once its over, I'll be one my way again to deal with my business and most likely you'll never see me again."

"Hmph!" Kai responded with a smirk. "I was about to suggest the same thing. For once we will actually agree to something. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep," Kai said in his usual icy voice.

Celia mad her way to bed as well wanting nothing more than to go to sleep. Kai turned off the main lights and slipped into bed with his back turned toward her. Celia slipped into her bed as well and turned off the lamp, hoping to get some decent sleep. She just laid there thinking about all the possibilities the tournament and partnering with the Bladebreakers could bring. She didn't even realize she fell asleep into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. Not so long afterward, Kai fell soundlessly asleep as well.

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Finally I'm done! Sorry that it took me so long! Damn to writer's block! Oh yeah! I just got the sudden inspiration to write another story! Don't worry! I'll still be writing this one. I'm working on the other one right now. But for now.....please review and I will post up my next chapter and new story as soon as I can! Thanks!!!!!!

later

lonelistar05


	7. Author's Note Darn!

Hey! This is lonelistar05...I'm sorry for not updating yet but I don't think that I will be able to soon. School just started for me and I'm taking a lot of time consuming classes. I promise that I will get the next chapter as soon as I can...until then...be patient and I'll get it out soon. Thanks to all of my reviewers and to all those that read my story but don't review...later...lonelistar05


	8. Secret Admirers!

I finally updated!!! So sorry for the long delay...with crucial chemistry, having a major writer's block, and having your younger sister who is also writing a story bug you 24/7...it took me a while to update...so very sorry for those who waited for weeks for this chapter...but not to worry cause it's finally here...well, enough of me already...enjoy the fic!!!!

Oh yeah...I don't own BeyBlade...sucks I know...

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Chapter 7: Secret Admirers?!

The next morning was uneventful since both captains avoided each other at all possible costs. However, every once in a while they would glare at each other. This went unnoticed by both teams except for one person's ever watching eye. The amazement of the morning was when Karen actually woke Tyson up on time. The others thought she was crazy in volunteering to room with Tyson, but they thought if she could put up with him then they wouldn't object. Julie and Max also roomed together and Ray got his own room until Mr. Dickinson came.

The rest of the day was spent sight seeing and such. Obviously Kai went off by himself, most likely to go train. They guessed that Celia wanted to be by herself when she walked off. The rest of the group all actually had fun and pretty soon it was time to get ready for the banquet. All the girls invaded Karen and Tyson's room to get ready while Tyson went into Max's room.

About two hours later all the boys were waiting in the lobby of the hotel for the girls. They were all dressed nicely yet casually and comfortably. Kenny was wearing a white button down shirt with long-sleeves, tucked into a pair of smoke gray pants. He was also wearing black shoes and a black belt to finish the look. Max was wearing a white polo shirt with slightly baggy khaki's and light brown shoes. Tyson was wearing almost the same thing except he wore a navy blue polo shirt. Ray went with a dress-up look. He wore a pair of black slacks with a white long-sleeve, button-up shirt tucked in neatly with a black belt with a silver buckle. To finish the look, he wore black dress shoes. Kai was dressed the most casual but still very nicely. He too wore slightly baggy black slacks with a platinum buckle black belt. He wore a smoke gray short-sleeve t-shirt tucked in that fitted nicely on him. Finally he wore black shoes to finish the look.

They were all sitting ever so patiently when three figures suddenly made their way down the right staircase. All the guys looked up to have their jaws drop and eyes almost literally popping out of their sockets, for the exception of Ray and of course Kai. He only had a very surprised look on his face while Ray had a surprised smile on his face. Kenny, Max, and Tyson had dazed looks on their faces as Sophie, Julie, and Karen walk casually over to the guys.

"You girls look great!" Ray complimented to the girls.

"Thanks! But all the praise should go to Celia. She's the one who helped us mostly with everything," Karen replied with a smile and a wink.

All three girls were wearing traditional Chinese outfits but each had their own styles. Karen had on a regular Chinese dress that was so light a pink that it was almost white with silver white designs. It went down past her knee with slits on each side that went up to the mid-thigh. She wore white high-heeled, strap sandals. The top half of her hair was pulled up into two buns with two strands framing her face. She had on silver white eye shadow with clear lip gloss that had a hint of pink in it. She also had on silver teardrop earrings, a silver star pendant, and a simple chain anklet. Her nails and toe nails were French-tipped with some kind of Victorian style design on the bottom left corner on the left hand and on the bottom right corner on the right hand.

Sophie had a some what same style except that hers was baby blue and stopped above her knees with slits on both sides stopping at mid-thigh. She had on the same shoes and color as Karen. Her hair was pulled up into a single tight bun with small fake white flowers all around the base of the bun with two strands framing her face. Her eye shadow was silver in color and the same lip gloss as Karen. Her ears bore silver studded earrings and a silver chain anklet with a single dangling star charm. Her nails were also French-tipped with small flower designs in the same places as Karen.

Julie wore a lavender Chinese shirt with silver white designs and linings. The front had a v-shaped opening with a white tank showing. She wore a matching skirt that went to her ankles with a mid-thigh slit on the right side. She also had on the same shoes as the others. Her hair was pulled into two buns. The base had her hair sticking out all around (kind of looks like a sun) and two strands framing her face with some loose strands here and there. She had on silver purple eye shadow and lip gloss. Silver loop earrings with a star charm dangled her ears along with a simple silver anklet adorning her right ankle. She had French-tipped nails with small star designs in the same corners as Karen and Sophie. All in all the girls looked fantastic.

"Where's Celia?" Tyson asked looking around for her.

"Umm...uhh..." Karen muttered with a questioning look toward her fellow teammates.

"I'm here!!"

Everyone turned toward the staircase to see Celia rushing down the stairs as fast as she could with what she was wearing. She had a shirt similar to Julie's except hers was blue and wore a black tank underneath. She had on a black skirt that reached to her feet with slits on her sides that reached to mid-thigh. She had on the same shoes as the others for the exception that they were black. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun with chopsticks, two strands framing her face with loose strands. She had on silver blue eye shadow and same lip gloss as the others. Her ears adorned silver loop earrings and another silver stud earring on her left ear and a silver bracelet with star charms and a silver anklet. Her nails were French-tipped but with no special designs.

"Sorry I took so long. I couldn't find one of my shoes," Celia said with a sheepish look.

"Since we're all here, let's get going!" Max said excitedly. Everyone began to walk towards the doors when Celia suddenly gasped. Everyone turned toward her with questioning faces.

"I almost forgot!" Celia exclaimed. She turned toward Ray. "There was a person delivering something to your room Ray. He asked me where you were because he said it was important. I told him to place it in our room and I would get you."

"Oh! Well, I wouldn't want to keep you guys waiting on me," Ray began to protest.

"Well, we could go on ahead and you could catch up to us when your done," Karen said happily.

"All right, I'll see you all later," Ray said taking off toward his room.

"All right everybody, let's go!" Karen exclaimed happily. Karen and Tyson led the way, followed by Kenny and Sophie, Max and Julie, and bringing the rear was Celia and Kai.

***

'Hmm...I wonder what could be so important,' Ray thought making his way to his room. When he got to his room, he noticed it was still slightly opened. What struck him odd was that the light was on. 'Hmm...that's weird. Wonder why the lights are still on? Shouldn't they be off?' He cautiously opened the door, getting ready for whatever that was in his room. When he fully opened the door, he saw nothing was out of the ordinary. He glanced around and noticed an envelop at the end of the bed. He walked over to his bed and picked up the envelop and opened it. The note inside struck him confused. It read:

__

Turn around.

Suddenly he heard a slight noise behind him and quickly turned around. What he saw added shock to his confusion. He just stared at the person before him, not knowing what to say.

"Hi Ray. Good to see you again."

" *gasp* Uh...Mariah! What are you doing here?" Ray asked shocked beyond words.

"Well actually it was weird. Mr. Dickinson asked me if I wanted to accompany you guys for the tournament. Since I didn't have anything better to do and I missed you so much...I agreed," Mariah explained briefly.

Ray came out of his shocked state and a big smile came on his face. "That's great! Are you coming with us to the banquet right now?"

"Why do you think I'm dressed up?" Mariah asked with a playful glare.

At that, Ray took full notice of what she was wearing. She was wearing a white sleeveless silk like shirt with the upper front draped but not revealing too much. Her skirt was white and silk like as well with the left end ending at her knees and the right side going down in a diagonal just above her ankles. She seemed to have on the same shoes as Celia and were white as well. Her hair was done up in its original hairstyle except the ribbon was white. Her eye shadow was white with clear lip gloss. To Ray, she looked like an angel.

"So Ray, how about we get going?" Mariah asked shyly.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Ray exclaimed taking Mariah's hand and leading her out the door and heading toward the banquet.

***

"Whoa!! Check this place out you guys!" Tyson exclaimed when they got to the banquet hall. The banquet hall was elegantly decorated with many separate tables enough to fit the partnered teams. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, luminating the room. There was a stage at the far end of the room with a microphone stand on it by itself. Each of the round tables had a floral centerpiece, beautifully done with a sign indicating the teams' seats. The Bladebreakers and Sacred Stars found their table but continued to be mesmerized by the beautifully decorated hall.

Kai on the other hand was uninterested by everything around him and his thoughts were centered around one thing...or rather a certain person. He couldn't believe that this girl was starting to have an effect on him. When he first saw her coming down the staircase back at the hotel, he was left breathless. He couldn't believe that is was the same girl that got on his nerves. Now he couldn't help himself think about her and steal secret glances at her. 'Ugh...what's the matter with me? I shouldn't be bothered with her annoying presence. I should be focusing on the task at hand.'

Celia was looking around the room with wary eyes. She was scoping out the competition, seeing if she knew any of the competing teams. All of the teams weren't present, yet she could recognize some of the teams. She would have to wait until later for all the teams to be here. 'So far we have nothing to worry about,' Celia thought to herself.

Are you sure, young Mistress? I sense that all the teams so far have bit beasts. Esdraloon said some what worriedly in Celia's mind.

'I know, but they're nothing compared to our power, right Esdraloon?' Celia spoke back to her bit beast with a knowing smile.

Of course Mistress. No doubt about it! Esdraloon exclaimed proudly.

Celia smiled proudly at her bit beast's enthusiasm when something some what familiar caught her eye. She turned to take another look when she was interrupted by Karen's cheery voice.

"Come on Celia! All of the teams are here. We need to get to our table," Karen said excitedly while tugging on Celia's arm.

"All right all right! Let's go!" Celia said with a happy smile. She allowed Karen to lead her to their table where the guys and the rest of her team sat. Somehow the seating was arranged that she was sitting next to the arrogant, ice-cold king himself. She was reluctant to sit next to him but all the others were already seated and seemed very comfortable at where they were. She was surprised to see Ray and Mariah already there and chatting away to catch up on the only few days they've been apart from each other.

All the teams were settling down, all talking excitedly to each other. As soon as everyone was settled, a representative from the BBA office walked onto the stage to the microphone. All competitors turned their attention to the representative and listened to what he had to say.

"Welcome all teams to the world's first ever BeyDoubleBlade Tournament sponsored by the BBA. As you all know, the actual tournament doesn't begin until a couple of weeks from now, but that should give you all plenty of time to prepare. All rules still apply in this tournament and all captains were informed of the new rules and should have told their teams," the officer stated to the teams with an excited look on his face. Nods and murmurs rang throughout the hall. The officer raised his hand and the hall became silent once again. "Before the banquet begins, I would like to introduce the captains of all the teams. I ask that when I call your name you stand to show yourself to everyone. Now, first team we have Patrick of Lightning Storm." At that a boy with brown hair and green eyes stood. "Patrice of Divine Winds, their beyblade partners. Next we have Travis of Fire Blazers and Tara of the Gaia Girls as a partnered team. Then we have Kegan from the CircuitBreakers and Samara from the Tsunami Sisters. Now we have Evan from the Heartbreakers and Riley from the Wisterias. Next is Justin from Seraphim and Angela from Cherubim. Now here is a real shocker to you all. We have Tala from the Demolition Boys and Sidra from the Trinity. Here are Europe's own champions the Majestics with Robert and Alexis from the Mystics. And now let me introduce to you the teams that will give this tournament real hardcore competition. We have the actual World Champions the Bladebreakers with their captain Kai and their partnered team, the undefeatable champions of the all girls team championships, Celia of the Sacred Stars!"

A buzz rang throughout the whole hall at hearing that the Bladebreakers and Sacred Stars were a partnered team. Although there was talk about them throughout the hall, Kai and Celia were oblivious to all noise. A grim look were on both of their faces at hearing that the Demolition Boys and the Trinity were competing in this very tournament. Thoughts and questions were running through their heads but one stuck out the most...'This tournament will be harder than I thought...'

The representative got their attention once again to say a final word. "Well, there you have it. I along with everybody else from the BBA wish everyone good luck and train hard cause everyone expects great battles from everyone. Well, enough of me, enjoy the banquet!" the officer exclaimed and at that moment waiters and waitresses were filing out to get everyone's orders. Each table had at least two waiters or waitresses getting everyone's orders and rushing away to the chefs.

Everyone began chatting away while waiting for their food, for the exception of two oddly quiet captains. Kai and Celia were unusually silent, each lost in their own thoughts. Unknown to each other, they were both thinking the along the same lines. They were knocked out of their thoughts with loud clapping and cheering, signaling that their meals were ready. Waiters and waitresses were balancing plates of food with expertise while weaving their way the correct tables.

"Finally! I am so hungry!" Tyson exclaimed when a waitress placed his meal in front of him.

"Tyson! Show some manners!" Kenny exclaimed to the navy haired teen.

"Yes Tyson, please. Show some respect to the rest of the patrons and owners of the hall," Karen asked sweetly to Tyson. Tyson nervously backed away a little from Karen with blush evident on his face. He gulped and nodded to her indicating that he would try. Karen just smiled and went back to her meal. Everyone gave a smile for the exception of Kai.

While they were eating, a waiter came to the Bladebreaker and Sacred Stars' table with a single red rose and a note attached. "Excuse me," the waiter said to the two teams. Everyone turned their attention to the waiter.

"Yes? What is it?" Karen asked nicely with a smile.

"Um...I have a special delivery for a Miss Celia of the Sacred Stars. A young man asked me to give this rose and this note to her," the waiter stated rather nervously, somewhat fidgeting in place.

"Uhh...that would be me," Celia said with a shocked expression on her face. If anybody was looking, they would see Kai seethe with anger at the person who sent her the rose. 'Arg! What's the matter with me?!' Kai thought to himself angrily.

"Here you are Miss," the waiter said politely, handing her the note attached rose. Taking the rose shyly, she nodded and mumbled a "Thank you" to the waiter. He smiled and walked back to the kitchen area.

Celia was just idly fingering the rose and note when she suddenly had the feeling that she was being watched. And indeed she was. The whole table was looking at her expectantly, waiting to hear who gave her the simple but romantic gift. She was taken slightly a back but countered with "What?!" in an annoyed tone.

"Well?! Aren't you gonna read the note?!" Mariah asked anxiously. The other girls had anxious and excited looks as well. The boys were just interested in who would give her a rose. Kai just sat there with his arms crossed and eyes closed, looking not interested, but in reality very interested in who had an interest in her.

Celia just sighed in defeat. "All right all right! Gosh! I was gonna open it later but..." she trailed off while taking the note off the rose and opening it. The note was written in a neat cursive handwriting, very elegant for a boy's handwriting. She scanned over the note and gave a small gasp while a slight blush rose on her cheeks. The girls gave a surprised gasp at seeing Celia's reaction to the note. Not wanting to wait any longer, Karen snatched the note from Celia's hand and quickly read the note. When she finished, she gave a slight squeal of excitement.

"Well? What's it say?!" Mariah asked with anticipation. Julie and Sophie nodded in agreement, urging Karen to read the note out loud.

Karen calmed down a bit and cleared her throat to proceed to read the note. "Ahem...

__

'To the beautiful star maiden,

I can only wish that I could always be within your presence to feel the warmth that radiates from your very soul. You are a very beautiful sight to behold, but you are so close and yet so far that this rose is as close as I can get to such a beautiful creature as you. You shall forever be my shining star that I will follow.'

Karen concluded with a wide smile on her face. The other girls squealed with excitement and the boys were just surprised but had smiles on their faces as well.

Celia on the other hand was wondering who this "secret admirer" could be. She began to look around the room but could see no one of the obvious. The weird thing was that she had the feeling that the person was watching her. She gave a slight shudder and shook away the feeling.

Kai was still keeping to himself and keeping his comments to himself but couldn't help but let on slip. "Hmph! Who would want to be your secret admirer. Whoever wrote that must be a senseless dolt," Kai sneered with a smirk.

At hearing the comment, Celia turned to him with a slight growl on her face. She was about to argue back when a waitress came up to them. Celia turned her attention to the waitress who was holding a small wrapped gift in her hands.

"Excuse me," the waitress politely intervened.

The others stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the waitress as well.

"Yes? What is it?" Celia asked with a hint of curiosity.

"I have a gift for Kai of the Bladebreakers. A young lady asked me to give this to him," she stated calmly with a smile on her face. At hearing this everyone looked at Kai with surprise on their faces. To further their shock, Kai had a surprised look on his face as well. He looked up to the waitress and she handed him the small gift. He took it with some hesitation and the waitress left. He just placed it on the table while everyone else looked on with anxiety. He looked up to see everyone staring at him. He answered their unasked question. "There's no note."

Everyone sighed in disappointment, the guys especially since it would have given them the chance to tease Kai a little. Everyone went back to talking excitedly at who Celia and Kai's secret admirers could be. Celia had something else in mind.

"Now look who has a secret admirer," Celia teased to the blue haired boy. Kai just ignored her and went back to his dinner. Celia smirked and went back to her meal as well. They were tied.

***

Unknown to Kai and Celia, two figures were watching them very closely. They were both thinking the very same thing. 'He'll/She'll soon be mine...'

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Yay! This chapter is finally done! Too bad it's a little cliffhanger...but where's the fun without them? hehe...Anyway please review and I shall update as soon as I can! But I won't guarantee that it will be very soon I'm afraid...so so sorry! Until next time!

later

lonelistar05


	9. Training and Stirring Emotions!

Hey everybody! Many apologies for not getting this chapter out sooner. Exams are this week and I have to be ready for them. Sucks I know. But at least I got this chapter out before hand. This weekend I have a four day weekend and plus it's my 17th birthday. Gosh I feel old!!! But any way enough of me blabbering...on with the fic!!!

And I unfortunately don't own BeyBlade but I do own my characters.

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Chapter 8: Training and Stirring Emotions?!

"Ugh! Why did we have to wake up so early?!" a familiar voice complained so loud that his voice rang throughout the courtyard.

"Tyson, please. Be considerate to the other competitors," Kenny said to the complaining teen.

"Why don't you tell them that," Tyson said pointing to Kai and Celia who were just standing there with their arms crossed. After the banquet when they were making their way back, Kai told, or rather barked at the others that training would begin tomorrow at 8:00 am. Celia turned to her team and nodded towards them. They understood her gesture. Now they were waiting on the rest of the Sacred Stars wondering where they were. Only Celia seemed not to be worrying about the rest of her team, as if knowing where her team was. And indeed she did.

With annoyance apparent on his features, Kai turned to Celia. "Where is your team?" Kai asked, his patience growing thin.

Celia just opened one of her eyes to look at him, deciding whether or not to answer him. By the look on his face, she decided against the latter. "Don't worry. They're finishing up their early morning training exercises," Celia simply said.

"Then how come you're here? I thought you would be with them," Max said wonderingly.

"Simple. I finished before them," Celia said as if it was the most logical thing to say. Before anyone could ask her more questions, three figures made their way toward the group. Each face had their own way of expressing that they were tired, but still had plenty of energy to train some more.

"Celia, next time, could you at least wake us at 5:00, at the least, instead of 4:00," Karen somewhat whined to her slightly amused leader.

"Hmm...I'll take it into consideration," Celia said with a slight smile and giving her a slight shrug. She then turned toward the Bladebreakers and noticed their shocked expressions. She looked at them weirdly with a "What?!" in an irritated tone.

"4:00 in the morning?!" Tyson, Ray, Max, and Kenny exclaimed out loud. Although they were very surprised, Kai wasn't affected at what time they woke up cause he woke up when Celia did, for he was a light sleeper. The girls just smiled and shrugged as if it was nothing.

"Have you girls even eaten yet?" Tyson asked incredulously.

"No, but its okay. No big deal. We can wait until lunch," Karen said simply.

"Yeah. Now the real training begins with Celia," Sophie said with a grin. She just got a glare from her slightly angered leader.

Celia looked over to Kai. Seeing as he wasn't gonna say anything, she just turned back to the others. "All right. Well, since you know that there have to be pairs made to compete in each round, we have to decide who is paired up with who. So we'll just set matches to determine who is with who and who are gonna compete," Celia explained briefly of what they were gonna do.

The others just nodded in agreement. Then Ray spoke up. "So...who are going against who?"

Just as Celia was about to answer his question, Kai intervened. "Sophie and Max, Julie and Ray, Karen and Tyson, and Celia and me are the match-ups. Sophie and Max are up first," Kai said with an emotionless voice. Everyone just looked at him and shrugged.

They all moved over to the dish and Max and Sophie got their launchers ready.

"In 3...2...1...LET IT RIP!" Tyson yelled and they launched their blades. Kenny was positioned on the ground with Dizzi to record all the data. Celia and Kai were far from the group but close enough to see the match and far enough from each other. Everyone else surrounded the dish.

"Come on Eiko!"

"Go Draciel!"

Both blades clashed at each other with sparks flying everywhere. Sophie's baby pink beyblade soon broke away and began to circle around Draciel. Eiko was prowling around Draciel and became faster. Soon it was just a blur and strange but enchanting melody came from the baby pink blade. Sophie smirked at hearing this for she knew what would happen next.

Max started to worry a bit when the opposing blade became faster. He decided to call out his bit beast. "Let's go Draciel!" he yelled and that instant his metal turtle bit beast came out of the bit chip. Draciel waited his master's orders while being wary of Eiko's moves.

Off on the sidelines, a certain someone wasn't exactly paying attention. Celia was off in her own thoughts. She felt a little troubled ever since a certain event that happened yesterday at the banquet...

~*FLASHBACK*~

Celia excused herself from the table, heading toward the restroom area but really she just wanted to go away for a while to think. She decided to go out to the garden and sit for a bit. When she got there, she took in the beauty of the lush garden. There were flowers of all kinds all around with a large fountain in the center of everything. The sky was filled with bright stars and a full moon glowing brilliantly.

Celia made her way to the water fountain breathing in the cool night air. As she was about the sit down, she heard movement behind her. Turning around swiftly, she prepared herself for anything that could attack. She was a bit surprised when she was faced with nothing but bushes and nothing that was moving. Hearing a slight rustle, she turned her head with lightning speed to her left.

"Show yourself!" Celia commanded with a slightly angered tone in her voice. When the figure came out, she was surprised at who came out of the bushes. He blended with the shadows well with his all black outfit but he would have been noticed easily with his pale complexion and bright red hair. He stood before her with a slight smile on his face.

"Good evening star maiden. A pleasure that I finally get to meet you face to face," the red head said smoothly.

Celia frowned at hearing that. It was him who sent her the rose. "So it was you who gave me the rose. What do you want Tala?" she asked with annoyance in her voice.

"Remember what I said in my note? I will always follow you my shining star. When I saw you leave, I knew this would be my opportunity to make my wish come true," Tala said as innocently as a little kitten would.

"Hmph! Cut the bull crap! We would have eventually met at the bey stadium during the tournament. I know you have something else in mind," Celia inquired with narrowed eyes.

"Hmm... I guess your right. I do have something else in mind...or rather someone. That someone is you," Tala said chuckling to himself. He smirked when he saw how she reacted to his response. She was taken aback with surprise written on her face.

"What do you mean 'me'?" Celia asked with anger and interest.

Tala began to advance toward her. Seeing this, Celia began to back away making her way around him and toward the banquet hall's entrance. "Exactly what I said. I want you," he said darkly.

"Ha! As if I would want to be with you. Why don't you go after the captain of the team you're partnering with. She seems to be in your league," Celia spat at him with venom. With that, she spun on her heel and hastily made her way back to the banquet.

~*END FLASHBACK*~

When she woke up the rest of her team that morning, she filled them in on what happened to her. They became very worried for her but Celia reassured them that she would be all right. She has yet to tell Mariah. She wasn't planning on telling the guys cause she knew how they would react.

"Hey Celia," came a voice behind her.

'Speaking of the devil,' Celia mused to herself. She turned to face Mariah who had a cheerful smile on her face. Celia slightly smirked and raised an eyebrow at her. "A bit too happy this morning, aren't we?" Celia asked in a teasing tone.

Mariah blushed. "Well I just had a good night's sleep and not in the way you were thinking," Mariah hastily said slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah sure. Whatever you say Mariah," Celia said with a smirk. She turned her attention back to the battle but found it very hard to do so. Her thoughts still drifted back to last night. Mariah noticed her unfocused expression and became worried.

"Is something wrong?" Mariah asked with concern written all over her face. Celia snapped out of her thoughts and just looked at Mariah. She saw the concern on Mariah's face and debated if she should tell her.

"Um...nothing. I'm fine," Celia stuttered with a fake smile on her face. Mariah didn't buy it for a second. She frowned and went up to Celia face to face.

"Don't try to hide it. I know your lying," Mariah said with a slight scowl on her face. Celia was slightly taken aback. She looked around to make sure no one else was paying attention to her and Mariah. When she saw that everyone was occupied, she lowered her head closer to Mariah's and said in a low voice, "I'll tell you later. I don't want the guys to know."

"All right," Mariah said in an equal low voice with a bit of uncertainty in her voice. Both turned their attention back to the action. The Bladebreakers and Mariah were surprised to see a green beyblade shoot out of the dish with incredible speed. The Sacred Stars, especially Sophie, smirked at their shocked faces.

"Great job Sophie. Julie and Ray, you're next," Celia said with pride in her voice at Sophie's victory. Julie and Ray assumed positions and prepared to launch. Soon both beyblades of lavender and gray shot into the dish and met at the center. Sparks flew as both blades kept clashing at each other and then suddenly separated to circle around the side of the dish. Both bladers observed their opponents waiting for who would strike first. Although Julie was a very patient person, she wanted to end this match quickly. As if being mentally commanded, Eczelon shot forward toward Driger with amazing speed. Ray's eyes became slits at seeing this.

"Driger! Tiger claw attack!" At Ray's command, Driger left his confinements and came out of the blade with incredible power. Driger rushed at Eczelon with incredible speed, meeting Eczelon in the center. Both blades clashed together and dust and smoke began to rise. They waited to find out who the winner was but didn't have to wait long when a blur shot past Ray and landed behind him. Everyone turned to see that it was Ray's blade lying in the dirt.

Julie smirked with pride as she called Eczelon back and left the dish. The rest of the Sacred Stars smiled as well and Karen stepped up to the dish. Shaking out of shock, Tyson walked up to the dish, determined to win.

"I'm gonna with this one Karen," Tyson said confidently, raising his launcher.

"We'll see about that Tyson," Karen said smoothly, confidence unwavering.

Once again, blades crashed together in the center of the dish. Then the familiar white beyblade broke away to circle around the baby blue blade. Karen waited calmly for Tyson to attack, knowing he would soon. Tyson, seeing that she wouldn't attack, decided to go first.

"Go Dragoon!"

Dragoon sped straight toward the defending blade. Both clashed once again with sparks flying everywhere. Both blades kept pushing each other back and forth until Entranza pushed Dragoon away with a hard ram. Dragoon faltered a bit but regained his balance. Tyson gritted his teeth, racking his brain for a way to beat her. Right at his moment of distraction from the battle, Karen ordered Entranza to go and finish the match.

"Go ahead Entranza! End this!" Karen commanded her blade to do with a smirk on her face. Tyson turned his attention back to the match a second too late but soon enough to see his blade fly out of the dish. Tyson stood there shocked at such speed and at the fact that he lost. He picked up Dragoon and clutched it tight in his hand. He turned to Karen and smiled.

"Great battle, Karen. Guess you were right," Tyson admitted to the sapphire blue haired girl with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Guess so," Karen said with a knowing smile and shrug. Both stepped away from the dish and stood on the sidelines. Everyone looked toward the two captains who were glaring at each other with challenging eyes. Both determined not to lose, stepped up to the dish. As they were getting ready, everyone was getting excited.

"In 3...2...1...LET IT RIP!"

Both blades landed smoothly at the same time and advanced toward each other with high speeds. Blue and white beyblades crashed as they met in the center of the dish sending sparks everywhere. Kai and Celia didn't even bother to shield themselves while the others backed away from the dish.

"Go Dranzer!"

"Finish him off Esdraloon!"

With a single hit, Esdraloon sent Dranzer flying into the air. Kai smirked, seeing as this would be his chance. "Dranzer! Flame Sabre!" Kai commanded. Dranzer responded by flaming up and heading straight toward the white blade. It seemed that Celia wasn't going to respond but at the last minute Esdraloon moved out of the way. Everyone was amazed at the speed of Esdraloon. It went after Dranzer once again at an incredible velocity. Dranzer countered by showing an equal amount of velocity. Both blades crashed at the center, sending smoke everywhere. Everyone covered their eyes, even Kai and Celia. When the smoke cleared, everyone saw the outcome. It was a tie. Dranzer was next to Celia while Esdraloon was near Kai. Both picked up the blades and approached each other still holding that challenging glint in their eyes. They returned the blades and silently they received each other's respect.

"Those battles were amazing! The power readings I got from all the girls' blades were off the charts. And they didn't even release their bit beasts," Kenny exclaimed with excitement.

"Yeah. You girls rock," Dizzi voiced in.

"Thanks. Now what do we need to do? We all battled, so does that mean that we have to decide who is paired up with who for the tournament?" Karen asked with curiosity.

"Yes. The only problem is that I still don't know the full extent of your blades power because I don't have any records of your bit beasts' power. I don't even know what they are," Kenny explained to the group.

All the girls turned to Celia and she gave a nod to them. "All right. We'll tell you what our bit beasts are but you've got to promise not to tell anyone," Sophie said with seriousness. The boys were about to question why, but when they saw the seriousness on all the Sacred Stars faces they just nodded in agreement. "All right. Kenny you better get this now or else you will never hear it from us again. Eikurin or Eiko is a siren. Her attack is Melody Madness. Eczelon is a black wolf and her attack is Freeze Swipe. Entranza is a eastern like dragon with Meteor Streak as her attack," Sophie explained very briefly.

Kenny was typing all the new stats furiously and was getting Dizzi is search for further information. He was surprised to find more information on their bit beasts. Although it still wasn't much, he still skimmed through the files. Suddenly he realized that he was only looking at three bit beasts files. He looked up at the girls to question about the fourth when Ray beat him to it.

"What about your bit beast Celia? Are you gonna tell us about Esdraloon?" Ray questioned with great curiosity at what her bit beast could be.

"Um...actually Ray, even we don't know what her bit beast is, so don't exactly expect her to say what her bit beast is," Karen said hastily before her leader could. She knew how Celia could be when people kept pestering her about her bit beast. Celia would choose her time to tell them what her bit beast is.

Kai raised an eyebrow at this. 'She doesn't trust even her own teammates with the knowledge of her bit beast,' Kai thought to himself, staring at the girl captain. He saw her slowly look toward him and was surprised at what he saw. Behind her usual cool expression, he saw anger and......sadness? Before he could look further she turned her head away.

"Well that's all right with us. If she doesn't want anyone to know, then we won't question her. I'm sure she'll let us know when she wants to," Max replied understandingly. The others nodded in agreement and Celia gave a grateful smile.

"I understand but I still need some information on your blade, if that's okay Celia," Kenny explained.

Celia turned to him and smiled. "It's all right Kenny. Just get the information from Sophie. She has files on her laptop," Celia said. She turned to the rest of the group. "Okay, now we need to figure out who will be with who. I want Sophie to be with Kenny in analyzing the opponent's blade and figuring out strategies. That would put Julie, Karen, and me in battling. One of you guys will act as a substitute, should anything happen to you. Now you guys can decide who will be the substitute," Celia said with an authoritive voice.

"I'll be the substitute," Kai said almost immediately. Everyone turned toward him with surprised faces. Even Celia was surprised that he was sitting out. She couldn't explain it, but she felt slightly disappointed as well. She just shook it off hoping nobody saw her slip up but she wasn't fortunate enough for someone did see her.

"Are you sure Kai?" Ray asked his captain. Kai just gave them a nod and everyone understood that he would not change his mind.

"All right then. Julie has a powerful attack blade so I want her to be paired with Max. Karen's blade has great endurance so she'll be with Tyson. I shall be with Ray cause of our speed. Tomorrow we will begin the real training, but for now we'll go have lunch and then you'll have the rest of the day off," Celia briefly explained. At the thought of food and the rest of the day off everyone cheered except for Kai of course. The whole group began talking animatedly while making their way toward the hotel. Celia just looked on at the group with a somewhat sad expression on her face, almost longing. Kai was staring at her the whole time and noticed all the changes in her facial expressions. He walked up to her and waited for her to turn to him. He didn't have to wait long when she noticed him right away.

"Something wrong Kai?" Celia asked with a soft and somewhat sad expression on her face. When Kai saw this, it almost made him want to reach out and hug and comfort her for whatever reason she was sad for. Luckily he was able to refrain himself from doing so.

"We need to plan the training schedule for tomorrow," Kai simply said with his usual expression.

"Um...how about later tonight. I've got something I have to do this afternoon," Celia said with a hint of urgency and nervousness. Kai caught the hint of urgency and uneasiness but didn't question about it. He was too occupied at looking at the slight plea for understanding in her eyes.

"All right. Be back for dinner and we'll talk about it in our room afterwards," Kai said, secretly complying to her unspoken wishes. Celia just gave him a thankful smile. "Thanks Kai." At her thankful and warm smile, Kai felt rather funny and warm inside. It confused him but he shook it off until he had time to think. He just nodded in reply.

"Come on, let's go. We need to make sure that Tyson doesn't eat everything. I'm gonna have to make a eating schedule for him," Celia said with a happy smile. She smiled even wider at seeing Kai give a little smirk.

"Good luck," Kai simply said.

"Don't worry. If I can't handle him, I know someone who can," Celia said with a knowing smile. Kai just raised an eyebrow and followed her toward the hotel. 'This is going to be a long and confusing few weeks.

*****

The training schedule that Kai and Celia made was tiring and harsh. Even the girls were exhausted at the end of the day and they were with Celia for nearly three years. The boys were faring no better. Everyday they would collapse in bed. Even Tyson was sometimes too tired to eat. After two weeks of hard training and endless begging, the two captains decided to give them a day off.

"Finally a day off! Man! I don't know how you girls did it, but training with Celia and Kai is brutal," max said after waking up a bit later than usual.

"Yeah! And I thought Kai was tough," Ray commented with amusement in his voice. The girls just smiled in understandment. They knew how Celia could be with training, but now with both Kai and Celia...it was harsher than harsh.

"Well, since we finally got the day off, what do you say we go have some fun," Tyson said with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, let's go!!"

***

'Hmm...this looks like a good place to practice,' Celia thought to herself while looking around her. She found a secluded area in the forest near a park. It was a peaceful place which was near a small pond and clear of trees around the pond.

'How about we get started Esdraloon,' Celia thought to her bit beast.

Ready when you are. Esdraloon responded with some eagerness in her voice.

'All right. We're gonna work on that new technique we've been trying to get. I wanna try to get it perfected before the tournament begins,' Celia thought back to her bit beast.

Right! I'm ready and waiting.

"Okay....LET IT RIP!!!"

***

'Hmm, let's see here.' Kai was intently looking at all the beyblade parts the shop had to offer. The beyblade shop had a large variety and there were many to choose from. Kai was currently looking at the attack rings, trying to find the one he wanted. He picked up one, examined it, and placed it back.

What was wrong with that one, Kai? I thought it was a good one. Dranzer piped up in Kai's mind.

'Not exactly the one I'm looking for. It may be good but not the best,' Kai thought back to the red phoenix. He kept looking through all the shelves until something caught his eye.

I think that one is good enough. I personally like the way it looks. Dranzer commented.

'Good cause it's perfect,' Kai thought with a smirk. He picked it up and began to look at the other parts.

***

A large group of young teens came out of the theatre laughing and talking excitedly. Their day of relaxation was going great. They spent most of the morning sightseeing and visiting some shops. They had lunch at a very nice restaurant which was the girls' treat. Then they decided to watch a movie. The movie was hilarious and hadn't come out in their home countries yet. Everyone was having a great time.

"Man this day has been great!" Max said happily. The others agreed with happy smiles on their faces. Their happy faces turned into questioning looks when Max pointed toward the sky. They looked up and a somewhat depressed look came upon everyone's faces.

"Aww! It just had to be today of all days to rain," Tyson complained aloud. Everyone nodded with dejected faces. Ray suddenly got an idea and turned toward the others.

"Hey guys, I got an idea. How about we go back to the hotel before the storm comes. Then we could find something to do in the room, like play some games and have a little party," Ray suggested. The others seemed to like that idea and agreed immediately. They began to make their way back to the hotel discussing what they should do to finish their fun filled day.

***

"DARN IT!! I can't believe I didn't see this storm coming!" Celia yelled to herself. She had been so occupied in perfecting her new attack that she didn't notice the dark gray clouds that came in the afternoon. She ran as fast as she could to the hotel, careful not to slip or bump into anyone who were desperately trying to get out the of the rain as well. When she got in the hotel, she was out of breath and soaking wet from head to toe. After catching her breath, she made her way to the elevator and pushed the button for the floor she wanted.

'I hope the others are okay,' Celia thought with a worried look on her face.

I'm sure they are, mistress. Esdraloon said calmly trying to ease Celia as best she could. When the elevator stopped, she stepped out and quickly went into her room to change and not to attract attention. She opened the door and closed it behind her a little too loudly, causing the room's occupant to look up from what he was doing. It was a mistake soon to be regretted.

Celia was standing by the door taking her soaked shoes and socks off, but that wasn't the problem. Since she was bending down, Kai got a view of a place he KNEW he would get in trouble for if he got caught. When she stood upright, he tried to get back at what he was doing which was fixing and upgrading his blade with the parts he bought. Unfortunately he couldn't concentrate and his eyes drifted back to Celia as she walked toward the dresser to get a change of clothes.

As she walked, he fixed his gaze on her, watching her every move. Since her clothes were soaked, it clung onto her body, showing all of her curves and slim body. Her hair was plastered on her face, hiding her face from him. Unfortunately for Kai, Celia knew that he was watching her. She was lucky enough to have her hair hide the small smirk that came out. She made her way to the dresser, opened the second drawer and pulled out a pair of silk pajama pants, her towel, a white tank, and under garments. She took all her clothing and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She leaned against the door and sighed, not acknowledging the little blush appearing on her cheeks.

Kai was watching her, almost as if in a trance. He came back to his senses when he heard the door close. He shook his head violently, cursing at himself for being so easily distracted. 'What's wrong with me? I see her all wet with soaked clothes clinging onto her and now I feel some sort of...what?.....attraction?! ARG!!! I shouldn't be thinking of her in that way! We are only partners for this tournament and then its over,' Kai thought furiously. Suddenly his expression became softer as if longing for something. 'But still......'

*****

It was late at night and once again Celia could not sleep. She looked at the digital clock next to her. It read one o'clock in the morning. 'Great...' Celia thought sarcastically. She threw the covers off and began to sit up. As she was sitting up, however, she felt sort of dizzy and lightheaded. She also felt hot and she noticed that she was sweating. 'Is it stuffy in here or is it just me?' Celia thought. She looked at the glass sliding doors that led to the balcony. 'Maybe some fresh air will do me good. Good thing it stopped raining.'

She got up and tried to get to the doors, but was stumbling greatly because of her dizziness. She didn't even notice a figure was standing behind her in front of her bed. When she finally made it to the door, her legs gave way and she knew she was falling. She waited for the impact of her hitting the ground hard, but it never came. She struggled to look at her savior, but through the darkness and little moonlight, all she saw where worried crimson eyes and blue triangles.

"Kai..."

"Quiet. Save your energy," he softly commanded as he gently lifted her up into his arms. To him she was incredibly light and he carried her over to her bed with ease. She tried to put her arms around his neck, but she was too weak to even lift her arms. He gently placed her back on her bed and covered her with the comforter. "Don't move," Kai said gently to her. Then he ran into the bathroom, grabbed a basin and filled it with cold water. Then he took a wash cloth and carefully brought the basin to her bedside. Her breathing was becoming short and rapid.

Kai quickly dipped the cloth into the basin of cold water and wringed out excess water. He gently patted her forehead and face to try to cool her down. At Kai's gentle touch, she began to calm down and her breathing became even once again. He continued to pat her face gently for what seemed like forever.

'Why is he being so nice to me?' Celia thought, darkness starting to take over.

'Why am I being nice to her?' Kai thought with confusion mixed with concern written on his face. Before Celia could think about it anymore, she was drifting further into the darkness of slumber. All she remembered before blacking out was saying, "Thank you Kai..." in a barely audible voice.

Kai smiled a bit when he heard thank him. He saw her drift into a peaceful slumber with a soft smile on her face. He stopped patting her face and just looked at her sleeping figure. He hesitantly brought his hand against her face and gently stroked her creamy soft skin. He felt electricity coursing through his fingers and going through the rest of his body. As if on instinct, he did something he never thought he would do. Kai bent over and gently placed a feather-like kiss on her forehead. When he pulled away, he saw that her angelic smile was still on her face. He smiled for the second time that night but then a frown made its way to his face.

'What is wrong with me?! I shouldn't even care about her but here I am taking care of her,' Kai thought with confused and troubled eyes. His beyblade started to glow a little red and immediately flew into Kai's hand.

What's the matter Kai? Why look so troubled? Dranzer asked his master with concern in his voice.

'I don't know. Ever since this girl came into my life.....I've been getting these strange feelings. At first I thought it was just rivalry between us but now.....I don't know Dranzer. I just don't know.....' Kai thought back to his faithful bit beast. Dranzer was silent for what seemed like forever. Then he suddenly asked, Could it be that you care about her more than you realize?

Kai was shocked by the sudden question. Did he really care about her like that? 'I-I.....I d-don't.....know.....' Kai stammered to his bit beast. Dranzer chuckled a bit. Well Kai, honestly I wouldn't mind a partner myself. I'll leave you to your thoughts. Good night, young master. he said with a slightly teasing tone. Dranzer glowed red once again and flew back to its original spot on the night stand. Kai sat there confused at what Dranzer just said to him. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. He looked back at Celia's peaceful face, still sleeping softly and whispered more to himself than to her....

"I think I've fallen for you..." 

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And there you have it!!! Thank you to all who reviewed me, they mean a lot to me. Again, sorry for getting this in soo late. Please review and tell me what you think and don't forget to check out my other story 'That Paper Lantern Night' and my little sister's own story under my name 'A Dream Come True' and don't forget to review!!!

later

lonelistar05


	10. Confusion

Finally an update for this story! And just in time for the new year! Well, it's only New Year's Eve but that's okay! At least I got this chapter out before the new year. So sorry that it took so long. Thank you to everyone who review and have waited for this update. But enough of me babbling......on with the fic!

Oh and I don't own BeyBlade, just my characters.

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Chapter 9: Confusion

A figure stirred slightly as the bright golden rays of the sun washed over the room through the windows. The figure shifted slightly not wanting to get out of bed just yet. Much to her dismay, she could not fall back asleep. She slowly at up in bed, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. She looked towards the night stand, checking for the time. She was surprised to find that it was nearly 9:00 in the morning. She quickly shifted her gaze towards the other bed but saw that there was no occupant. The strangest part was seeing it still unmade and looked as if he was a bit rushed to get out of bed. Then she felt the bed shift a bit coming from her left side. She turned her head and shock was written on her face. There he was resting peacefully, sitting on a stool with his arms cradling his head. Her eyes shifted to the ground and saw a basin with water in it. Near his hand was a cloth that was slightly damp. She was confused as to why there was a basin of water and a damp cloth when it came to her. Flashbacks of what happened during the night came back to her as far as she could remember. She turned back to him and smiled softly towards him, even though he was asleep.

"Thank you Kai," she said softly. Careful not to wake him, she got out of bed to take a shower. After gathering her things, she headed toward the bathroom but not before expressing her gratitude with a smile towards Kai's sleeping figure. Little did she know that after she closed the door behind her, Kai opened his eyes, no sign of sleepiness in them. He sat up and stretched, trying to rid of the numbness in his arms and legs. He stood up and quickly made both their beds, placing the basin on the table. He quickly changed into fresh clothes and proceeded to leave the room for a bit. After closing the door gently behind him, he made his way to Ray's room. Knocking on the door, he waited to hear from his teammate.

"Coming!" came the response from within the room. A second later, the door opened to reveal a freshened up Ray who looked ready to train. A somewhat surprised looked came onto Ray's face at seeing Kai at his door. Ray gave him a slightly questioned look, wondering if something was wrong.

"Ray, no training today. Tell the others to ready to train harder tomorrow," Kai said with no emotion in his voice.

"All right. Thanks Kai," Ray said somewhat unsure if what his team captain said was true. Before getting a question in, Kai left to go back to his room. After Kai went into his room, Ray just shrugged and closed his door. 'I wonder what happened? Whatever that happened, I hope it wasn't something bad,' Ray thought with a worried look on his face.

When Kai returned to the room, he took notice that Celia was still in the shower, so he just settled down onto his bed. His thoughts began to drift back to the events last night. He had to admit that he started to feel something growing over the last two weeks. Even though they didn't always get along, he just felt that he needed to watch over her ever since he saw the hint of sadness in her eyes. Things were still clouding his mind and he was still unsure of himself. Kai just sighed and began to feel annoyed of all these jumbled thoughts. He was about to close his eyes when he heard the door open. He lifted his head and saw Celia walk out with a slight smile on her face but with troubled and confused eyes. He sat up and silently watched her put away her things.

Celia was very aware that Kai was watching her, so she kept on with her business until she finished and ready to talk to him. She wasn't quite sure how to talk to him now that he had shown a caring side. She turned to face him and was quite taken aback by the slight glare that Kai gave her. She became slightly nervous as she quickly thought of a way to thank him.

"Um...Kai?" Celia asked, nervousness evident in her voice.

"Hmm?" came the response from the silent captain.

"Well, I just wanted to say thanks for taking care of me last night. I know I was troublesome for you, but I greatly appreciate it. No one has ever done that for and I thank you for it. Although you didn't really have to, if you didn't want to," Celia said, gratitude evident on her features.

"Hmph! Don't worry about it," Kai said trying to sound uncaring. He was successful but his eyes deceived him. Celia just smiled and got ready to leave the room. "Where are you going?" Kai asked, noticing she was getting her other pair of shoes from the closet.

"Just out for a walk. I figure you gave everyone the day off since you're not with them training," Celia said with a shrug. Deep inside, she was surprised and greatly warmed by his concern.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Kai asked with a slight warmth in his voiced concern.

Celia smiled softly and nodded. "Don't worry. I'm fine, thanks to you."

Kai felt a tinge of heat rise to his face but he shook it off quickly, hoping she didn't notice. "Just be careful and come back early to get some more rest."

"Okay," she responded with a semi bright smile. She slipped her shoes on and gave Kai a slight wave before leaving. Kai sighed and laid down on his bed. 

'Maybe I should take a walk too,' Kai thought to himself.

It would be wise to think out all of the things that has happened. Dranzer chirped in his opinion.

'Yeah, I guess you're right,' Kai smirked and added, 'for once.'

Hey! I have been plenty right before! Dranzer huffed at his master.

'Yeah right,' Kai thought sarcastically while getting up and getting ready to leave as well.

I have!!

'Whatever you say Dranzer,' Kai finished and left the room, mentally rolling his eyes at the phoenix.

Hmph!

***

Celia was just walking around the streets when she came upon a park different to the one they usually trained in. This park seemed to be one of where you would come to enjoy the scenery and little kids were playing around. She kept walking around until she saw a large fountain with some benches around it. Along the paved walkway were flowers of many kinds, ranging from all sorts of colors. She sat down on the bench that was furthest from the fountain but still had a nice view of the environment around her. Her mind was a jumbled mess and it was time that she sorted everything out to find the big picture that all her thoughts created.

***

Kai was just walking on the streets, trying to find an appropriate place to think. He decided to go to the park that they trained in. He made his was to their training grounds and was surprised to find a figure there, hard at training even though he had given them the day off again. He approached the figure quietly so as not to disturb their concentration.

"If you're trying not to distract me, you're already too late, Kai," the figure said without facing him, rather concentrating on the spinning blade in front of her. He approached and stood next to her, looking and analyzing her beyblade and technique. He glanced at the blader and noticed the look of concentration and determination on her face, especially in her eyes. "So what's wrong?" her question snapping him out of his thoughts. She turned to look into his eyes, knowing the truth in them.

"Nothing," Kai responded curtly, returning his attention to the beyblade before him, trying to do one of the new moves they had been working on.

"Can't lie to me, Kai. I know there's something going on and don't think I'll let up easily," she simply said.

"Don't pry into my business, Julie," Kai said somewhat angrily at her. 

"It's Celia, isn't it?" Julie suddenly asked staring straight at her blade. Kai stood there, a bit shocked that she figured out the center of his problems. He remained silent and saw Julie smirk in satisfaction. She raised her hand and her blade shot toward the open palm of her mistress. She then turned toward Kai and just stared at him. Kai had his head lowered, as if thinking whether or not to answer her or not.

"You care for her, don't you?"

***

"Ugh! Where do I start?" Celia exclaimed to herself. She had been sitting there for a while and could not figure out where to begin.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Celia turned quickly behind her, finding the person who disturbed her. She was quite surprised to find Ray standing there with a smile on his face. She figured he would spend his free day doing whatever he wanted, such as seeing the sights or sleeping. She didn't think he would be practicing with his blade, especially not in the training grounds of the team.

"Hi Ray, surprised to see you here," Celia said, offering him to sit down next to her.

"Thanks, but it really shouldn't be a surprise. I couldn't go on another day without training. I guess I have you and Kai to thank for that," Ray said with a bright, laughing smile. He instantly lost it at the melancholy look in the girl's eyes. "Seriously, Celia, what's wrong?"

"I don't know," she simply said, looking straight ahead of her.

"What do you mean?" Ray asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"That's just it, I don't know. I have so many thoughts jumbled in my head right now, I don't even know where to start to fix everything," Celia said with a sad expression. Ray looked at her with sadness in his own eyes. "What's worse is that the start of this is what happened last night," Celia said with slightly glazed eyes.

"You wanna tell me what happened? I think it would help if you tell someone else you problems so you can work them out better," Ray said calmly. Celia looked into Ray's eyes and saw that he really wanted to help.

"You really want to know what happened?" Celia asked, a bit of nervousness inching its way into her voice. At his slight nod, she sighed. "All right. Well, it started..."

***

"You care for her, don't you?"

Kai snapped his head up at the question and looked at the girl with a slightly surprised look on his face. Julie caught the slight surprise and smirked even wider. Kai angrily turned his head away from her and stared at the ground.

"Why would you care? It doesn't concern you," Kai angrily spat at her.

"I do care cause she is my captain and one of my closest friends. I don't want anything to happen to her," Julie stated calmly. '...again,' she added to herself.

"Hmph! Nothing's gonna happen to her since I don't care for her," Kai stated, crossing his arms and looking ahead.

"You're wrong," Julie said calmly.

"What?!" Kai angrily exclaimed, looking at her.

"I can see it in your eyes when you look at her," Julie said while turning to look at Kai. "You get this faraway look in your eyes. Hundreds of emotions fly across them. Sadness, curiosity, challenging, anger and something else that's hidden beneath all those and many more. I think you already found what that buried emotion is, you're just denying it, am I right?"

Kai just stood there, silently looking at the Sacred Star who was reading his eyes like an open book. He'd have to admit that he did feel all these different emotions when he saw her, emotions he didn't even know existed. Of course he would never really admit that to them.

"You're very observant," Kai said turning away again so he wouldn't let her read him anymore.

"I like to be. Helps you to read your opponent," Julie simply said. "So what are you gonna do?"

"What do you want me to do?" Kai asked back, looking at her once again.

"Up to you but you have to promise me something," Julie said seriously.

"What?" Kai inquired.

"Don't let her get hurt," Julie said simply yet very seriously.

***

"And now here I am," Celia said with a sigh.

"Wow. I never knew Kai could be so nice and caring," Ray responded after hearing of what happened.

"You're telling me," Celia replied somewhat sadly.

"So what now?" Ray asked.

"I don't know. I'm so jumbled up right now. So many emotions, so little time to sort them out," Celia said.

"Do you like him?" Ray asked suddenly.

"Huh?! I don't know what you are talking about!" Celia exclaimed, a surprised look on her face. Ray chuckled at her expression.

"Oh, I don't know. I've seen the way you look at him," Ray said with a shrug and a smile.

"What's that suppose to mean?!" Celia exclaimed with a faint hint of blush across her face.

"Deny it all you want Celia, but I know what I see. Your face may not show it but your eyes are as clear as crystal. When you look at him or even hear his name mentioned, your eyes have a misty faraway look. Emotions pop up from your eyes, I bet even some you aren't even familiar with. From anger and challenging, to caring and.....longing. Maybe something even deeper than that. I also see sadness and regret flash in your eyes. I can tell something must have happened in the past but I'm not gonna pry into your life. But I don't think you keep living in the past and give Kai a chance," Ray explained his observations over the past two weeks and what he thought from what he saw.

Celia just stared at Ray with a surprised look on her face. Everything that he just said was true. What really shocked her the most was what he said about her past. He'd never know how right he was. She really did live in the past but it was so she wouldn't have to experience what she had again. She had vowed not to trust all boys again, but slowly and surely she was falling again and it was for the two toned blue haired captain of the BladeBreakers.

"You know what Ray?" Celia asked calmly with a soft smile and expression.

"What?" Ray asked curiously, but with a twinkle in his golden eyes.

"You are too wise for your own good," Celia said with a slight smirk.

"Hmm...I don't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment," Ray joked with a laughing smile.

"It's a compliment and thanks for talking to me. Usually I talk to Esdraloon but its nice to actually have a human's opinion," Celia said happily.

"You talk to your bit beast? Is that possible?" Ray asked unbelieving.

"Of course. It lets you become closer to them and stronger in battle. You should try it sometime. I know you and Driger would talk to each other for hours," Celia said with a knowing smile.

"How do I get to talk to him?" Ray asked anxiously.

"Just concentrate on him, and then talk to him. At first its hard cause you're just beginning but eventually you'll get used to it," Celia explained simply to him.

"Thanks Celia!" Ray exclaimed his gratitude.

"No problem and thank you for helping me figure out the big picture," Celia said, smiling softly at the BladeBreaker.

***

"Finally," a female voice said to the male next to her while looking through a watch glass.

"Yeah, about time they realized it," the male said.

"True, but both are very stubborn. Of course we should know first hand, right Dranzer?" the female asked the red phoenix.

"Right, although my master is more stubborn to admit that he has feelings for your mistress, Esdraloon," Dranzer said in a laughing tone.

"Yes, but it is hard for her to accept this feeling once again," Esdraloon said sadly.

"I'm sure she'll over come it with the help from Kai," Dranzer said comfortingly.

"I hope you're right, Dranzer. I hope you're right..." Esdraloon said with sadness evident in her voice.

*****

That night, Celia laid awake, thinking about her day. She sighed quietly and rolled over to see that Kai had his back toward her. She felt the rush of all those emotions run through her and she felt a slight flutter in her heart. She smiled softly and rolled over toward the balcony, drifting into peaceful sleep.

'Maybe I am falling in love again, but this time, it's different. I fallen for Kai...'

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Well that's it for this chapter! Hopefully I can get the next chapter out soon but I can't guarantee it will be soon. School for me starts Monday which really sucks but I'll live. Please remember to review and check out my other story which is coming along quite nicely, if I do say so myself.

later,

lonelistar05


	11. No Swimming Accident

Well finally here is another chapter for you to enjoy. Sorry that it took so long. Thanks for all the reviews. Enough of me already! Read!!!!

I don't own BeyBlade...

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Chapter 10: No Swimming Accident

A week has past since Celia's little incident with the flu. She has asked Kai not to tell anybody, especially her teammates, for fear of worrying them too much. Kai agreed but watched over her from afar just incase. Ever since both of them figured out the big picture, they acted a bit awkward toward each other. In front of the others they would act normal, but when alone, they felt somewhat uncomfortable around each other. The BladeBreakers and Sacred Stars thought something was wrong with their captains (except for Ray and Julie) since they had only practiced three times in the past week. They didn't complain though. It meant that they could have more time to themselves.

"Seriously guys! I think Celia and Kai came down with something," Tyson commented to the group. Max, Julie, Karen, Ray, Mariah, Kenny, and Sophie were out on their fourth free day. They were all wondering what could be the problem be. Julie and Ray hid knowing smiles and just kept a straight face.

"Maybe they are thinking of new strategies for us to use," Max suggested.

"Or maybe they're secretly together and re going out on dates and stuff. Then, when they're around us, they just act like they don't like each other and try to ignore each other as much as possible so that we won't figure it out," Tyson replied.

"I don't think so Tyson," Kenny said.

"Oh yeah? Then what do you think they're doing?" Tyson retaliated back. This caused a whole commotion between the group, excluding Ray and Julie. They never told the group what they discovered and respected their captains' privacy. Ray, getting tired of the arguing and assumptions, decided to end the bickering.

"Guys?" No response.

"Guys!" Again no response.

"GUYS!!!" Ray exclaimed, not liking being ignored. Everyone stopped abruptly and turned to him. All of them held surprised looks and it soon turned into questioning looks.

"What's up Ray?" Tyson questioned first, confused at his friend's outburst.

"Look, I don't think we should be making all these assumptions about Kai and Celia. It's their own business what they do on break days and we should respect their privacy," Ray explained, not wanting them to pry into the personal lives of the two captains.

"Oh come on Ray. Aren't you at the least bit curious?" Tyson asked, still curious of what the two captains were doing.

"Ray's right. We shouldn't try to pry into their private lives. We all know they like to keep to themselves," Julie reasoned with a finalized tone.

"All right, we won't assume anything about them until they want to tell us," Tyson stated in defeat. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now that that's settled, where to?" Ray asked with a smile.

***

*SPLASH*

"Haven't gone swimming in the longest time," Celia commented, relaxing in the indoor pool of the hotel. Many of the teams were out or sleeping the day in, so she had the whole pool to herself. She had left Kai a note saying where she was, since she had slept most the morning, so as not to worry him, which he has been doing lately. Ever since she had gotten sick, he had been watching her like a hawk and often cancelled practice if she didn't feel 100% well that day. However, she called practice off that day so that he could relax a bit, instead of worrying about her.

"He worries too much," Celia commented to herself, not noticing a shady character entering the pool room.

***

"LET IT RIP!!!!!"

A blue and green beyblade flew right through the woods, zooming and dodging all the tree branched. The beyblade rebounded off a large tree and returned to its master's hand. The chip glowed a soft red and the owner smirked with approval.

"Good job Dranzer," Kai surprisingly commented to the red phoenix.

Isn't that a first? When was the last time you complimented me? Dranzer responded sarcastically.

"Hmph! Fine then, don't accept it. It'll be the last one you'll ever get from me," Kai replied.

Fine, whatever. How about we head back to the room and see how Celia's doing? She seemed out of it this morning. Dranzer suggested, voice edged with concern.

"All right, I guess," Kai responded, sounding uncaring. He began to walk back to the hotel.

Aww come on Kai! You know you're worried about her. Why don't you just admit that you're concerned about her? Dranzer asked, slightly teasing his master. Kai didn't respond back knowing that the phoenix was closer to the truth than he wanted. Actually, it hit the bulls eye right dead center. He finally made it to his room only to find it unoccupied. Then he noticed a folded piece of paper on the table. His name was written on it in neat penmanship. He opened the note and read what was on it.

__

'Kai,

Thanks for letting me call the day off. As you probably already suspected, I wasn't feeling like myself this morning. I slept through most of the morning and then went swimming. I should be back around three. Just wanted to tell you so you don't have to worry about me. Have fun and relax yourself. See you later.

Celia'

Kai quickly scanned the note again and then looked at the time. His eyes widened a bit to see that it was nearly four. He began to worry more, wondering the endless possibilities that could have happened to her. Dranzer sensing the concern, tried to calm him down.

Kai, I'm sure it's nothing. She probably lost track of time. She's probably on her way back now. Dranzer said quickly in attempt to calm Kai down. Kai was still unsure and began to think rationally when suddenly Dranzer interrupted his thoughts. Kai! Dranzer exclaimed, panic etched into his voice.

"What?!" Kai exclaimed impatiently.

It's Celia! She's in trouble!

***

"That was relaxing," Celia commented to herself getting out of the pool. She headed toward her bag and took out her towel. She began to dry herself off when she had the feeling that she wasn't alone. Her narrowed eyes darted across the room, trying to find out if there was really someone there or it was just her imagination. She was about to shake it off when she suddenly felt someone behind her.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you," a husky voice said behind her. Celia stiffened a bit at hearing the voice and instantly knew who it was. She quickly spun around to face the arrogant assailant.

"What are you doing here Tala?" Celia questioned with a scowl on her face. Tala just smirked and began to advance toward her slowly. With every step he took, Celia took a step back.

"What? I can't come see my fair star maiden after such a long time? That hurts me deeply," Tala stated dramatically with mock innocence and hurt.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I wasn't anxious to see you," Celia venomously spat out, suddenly aware that she was about to hit the wall. She began to look around to find the quickest way out of the room. She looked back at him when she heard him chuckle.

"Don't even try to get away from me. I've secured all the exits," Tala said with an evil glint in his eyes. He kept on advancing toward her. His smirk grew wider when her back was against the wall.

"Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?!" Celia angrily demanded looking at Tala. In the blink of an eye, he had her wrists locked in his left hand. She flinched when he began to stroke her cheek softly with his right hand.

"Simple. I want you, and I always get what I want," Tala said darkly, his face just inches from hers. He jerked his head back suddenly when she spat on his face. He wiped his face against his left sleeve and scowled darkly at her. She equaled his scowl with intense hatred fired in her eyes. Her expression suddenly changed from hatred to pain as she gasped for breath. She couldn't clutch her stomach because her hands were still locked against the by his own.

"You...bastard," she managed to wheeze out. She glared at him as he just smirked at her vulnerability. Her face showed even greater pain when he punch her again. She just let her head hang low as tears of fear and pain streamed down her face. Her head instantly jerked up when he wrapped his right hand around her neck. She kept up with her scowl but her eyes showed that she was in pain and was afraid.

"I don't appreciate people calling me names," Tala said darkly tightening his grip around her neck. She began to desperately gasp for air. He smile darkly at her futile attempt to breathe. Celia was at the brink of consciousness when there was a sudden bang. Tala quickly turned his head toward the door at the other end of the room and scowled darkly.

"Kai...." Celia meekly replied before blacking out. Kai saw her hanging limply in Tala's grasp. He scowled angrily at the red-head with hatred evident in his eyes.

"Let her go," Kai demanded angrily, positioning his blade. Fire glowed in his eyes as Tala just carelessly let Celia go, her body just slumping to the ground. He was tempted to let Dranzer take care of Tala right then and there and wipe the smirk that was on his face.

"Hmph! Kai, I didn't know you cared!" Tala mockingly said.

"Get the hell out of here before you get what's coming to you," Kai angrily spat out at him. Crimson red clashed with ice blue as they glared at each other with intense hatred unfelt before. Tala was the first to break away and turned toward the nearest door.

"Fine, but when I defeat you in battle, I shall claim my prize," Tala said walking toward the exit. "Until we meet again in the dish," he commented over his shoulder and disappeared out the door.

Kai pocketed his launcher and blade and quickly made his way toward Celia. He carefully sat her upright and was surprised to see a large bruise forming on her abdomen. His surprise quickly turned to anger and hate at the red-head. He grabbed her towel that was nearby and carefully wrapped it around her body to give her some decency. He slowly picked her up into his arms and made his way to the exit, grabbing her bag along the way. Quickly but carefully, he made his way toward their room, trying not to draw attention toward them. 

Finally reaching their room, he went into the bathroom and gently placed her in the bathtub to clean her wound properly. He ran the warm water and quickly locked the door of their room. Going back into the bathroom, he grabbed the softest face towel available and put a dab of soap on it. After gathering a good bit of lather, he gently began cleaning her wound. Although normally he would have had a hard time doing this considering she was still in her two piece, he mainly concentrated on cleaning the wound. When he was done, he rinsed her off, even her hair to clean out the chlorine. 

After draining out the water, he went to get some clothes. He debated on whether or not to go through her drawer to get clothes or to just let her borrow his. He decided on the latter and grabbed a pair of loose sweats and a t-shirt. He dried her off as best as he could and carefully bandaged her up and put on the articles of clothing. Lifting her up once again, he brought her over to her bed and pulled the cover over her body, tucking her in. He exhaled loudly and made himself comfortable on his bed, knowing that it would be a long night.

*****

"Hey, has anyone see Celia or Kai? It's almost time for dinner," Ray commented with worry evident on his face.

"Hey yeah! Where are they?" Tyson questioned in agreement with Ray.

"Maybe they already ate or lost track of time," Karen suggested.

"Maybe, but those two don't strike me as losing track of time," Mariah commented with a thoughtful look. The others nodded in agreement and began to worry even more about their team captains.

"Look, I don't think we need to worry about them. We all know that they are more than capable of handling themselves," Sophie reasoned with the group.

"Sophie's right. We shouldn't have to worry about Kai and Celia. I'm sure they're fine. Now, how about we get something to eat?" Max concluded to the group. Everyone agreed and headed toward the restaurant in the hotel, each trying not to worry about their missing captains.

*****

Kai was slightly startled by the sudden thrashing of the injured girl next to him. With concern written on his face, he got up and stood next to her. His eyes narrowed as he realized she was having a nightmare. She began mumbling and it soon became louder and clearer to what she was saying. Soon he saw tears stream down her face and full of sweat.

"Nooo!!!" Celia screamed out suddenly, jolting upright, fear evident on her face. Her breathing was rapid and she was scared out of her mind. She began looking around as if sensing the assailant in her nightmare was still around. When she realized that the assailant wasn't, she broke down in loud sobs, covering her face with her hands.

Kai watched the whole ordeal with surprise in his eyes not knowing what to do. He snapped out of his surprise and did the only thing he could think of. He sat down next to the sobbing girl and gently patted and rubbed her back. At the reassuring gesture, Celia clung onto him, desperate for assurance and safety. Surprised by her action, Kai didn't know what to do. He was never in these kinds of sentimental situations. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her and held her closer. Celia welcomed the warmth and snuggled closer to him, still sobbing uncontrollably. They stayed that way for several minutes and eventually the sobbing went down to sniffles and small hiccups. Kai held her all the same, not really caring that his shirt was slightly wet but more concerned about the girl in his arms. He suddenly felt her shift a bit and noticed that she was looking for something under her pillow with her right hand. Finally, she found what she was looking for and pulled out a silver pendant that was shaped into a star. He gave a questioning look toward it but didn't expect an answer.

"My mother gave it to me when I was five. It's a music locket. We used to listen to it together every night before I went to sleep," Celia replied, answering Kai's silent question. She opened it up and a soft melody began to play. On the inside cover, Kai noticed an old photograph. It was a picture of a young woman around her mid-twenties and a young girl of about five. Kai figured it was her and her mother.

"Where is she now?" Kai asked quietly, instantly regretting it when he was a bit of sadness return in her eyes.

"She died when I was six in an accident. My father was devastated but nonetheless took great care of me and was overprotective of me sometimes but I knew the reason," Celia responded with a faraway look and a slight smile. "A few weeks later I met the girls and we've been friends ever since. We grew up and did everything together. Eventually we started to blade and even received our bit beasts around the same time," Celia said fondly, remembering locked up memories.

They sat in silence once again, only the music playing the soft melody making any kind of noise. Celia was still leaning against Kai in his arms, enjoying the warm feeling of protection. She was surprised that he still had his arms around her and she wasn't going to lie to herself and say that she wasn't enjoying the feeling of having his strong arms around her.

"What happened to you in the past?" Kai asked suddenly. Celia looked up to him with questioning eyes and he met her eyes. He could tell that she went through another ordeal other than with her mother and he was curious but wasn't about to force her if she didn't want to.

"You really want to know?" Celia asked quietly, breaking eye contact with him and looked down at her locket. She felt him nod slightly and exhaled loudly. "All right, Kai. I'll tell you what happened..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well that's it for now. Sorry that I kinda made Tala a bad guy. I don't hate him.....I love him actually.....but he just seemed so right for the part. Well, you're gonna have to wait for the next chapter to find out happened to Celia in her past. Please review and I will see you next time.

later

lonelistar05


	12. Harsh Heartbroken Past

YAY! School is finally out and summer vaction is finally here! So sorry for the long wait but finals where taking over my brain and so I had to "study" for them...but you should know that I never study for anything and yet I get some of the best grades in class...(makes you think How is that possible? huh.......probably not sigh) Anyway, now that I don't have to worry about school for the next 2 or 3 months...I should be updating my stories more often, but I'm not so sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...hmm....I'll let you decide that. But anyway, enough of me and on with the chapter!

Just so you'll know...I don't own BeyBlade...

Chapter 11: Harsh Heartbroken Past

"All right Kai. I'll tell you what happened," Celia responded, exhaling slowly, preparing herself to relive the past. "It all started not too long ago when we actually started to compete in the local tournaments where we lived. That was about 3 years ago when we were new to the world. Then one day, Mr. Dickenson came to a tournament and saw our potential.."

FLASHBACK

"You girls are excellent bladers. With your talents, you are destined for greatness. How about you register for the All Girls Tournament that will be held next month?" Mr. D asked the newly rising stars in beyblading.

"Are you serious?" Karen excitedly asked.

"Of course I am! I see great potential in you four," Mr. D responded with a positive attitude. All three members turned toward their leader with pleading, anxious faces that were hard to ignore.

"All right, we'll enter, but training will be twice as hard," Celia proclaimed to her excited team. The small group broke out in cheers and even Mr. D was excited.

"All right girls. I'll see you a week before the tournament to get ready to leave for China," Mr. D informed to the anxious girls. With that, he left for them to prepare themselves.

END FLASHBACK

"And so we prepared ourselves for it and when the time came to leave, we were ready. However, when we found out our first round opponents, our confidence actually shook..."

FLASHBACK

"I can't believe that we're up against the reigning champions, the Trinity!" Karen exclaimed with a slight worried expression. Sophie was fidgeting and Julie was beginning to pale. Although Celia was the calmest looking of the group, she was actually worried that they would get knocked out of the tournament in the first round.

"Well well, if it isn't the newbies. Too bad they'll be knocked out of the tournament in the first round because their first opponents will be us," an annoying voice gloated toward the so called "newbies." The Trinity's annoyingly high pitched laughter filled the area. Celia, filled with anger, walked straight up to the Trinity leader, Sidra, and glared at her. Sidra glared right back with a disgusted look on her face. "What do you want?"

"Let me give you a piece of advise: 'Never underestimate your competition.' Learn it well," Celia responded with unwavering courage. The leader just rolled her eyes arrogantly.

"Yeah whatever," Sidra responded back, dismissing the thought. Celia narrowed her eyes and smirked.

"Well when we beat you in the first round and become the champions, you'll wish you had learn it," Celia said smugly. With that, she left and returned to her team. The Trinity just huffed and dismissed the ridiculous thought of being beaten in the first round. The Sacred Stars, however, were still quite nervous and unsure of their own abilities in beating the champions. Celia saw this and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. We can do this."

"Do you really think so?" Karen asked, gathering strength from her leader's confidence in them.

"Of course. I wouldn't have said if I wasn't sure. Give it everything you got," Celia said with a determined voice, trying to raise her team's confidence. The team smiled with the reassurance of their captain.

END FLASHBACK

"And with that confidence, we entered the arena. Even if we had some doubt, we never let it show, but the thing was that we didn't even break a sweat in beating them. Either they still thought they could win after being defeated in the first match or of our skills at the time, but I wasn't sure why they were so easy if they were the champions. They were as easy as amateurs. We couldn't believe that they were so simple to beat. They were shocked and the crowd was stunned that a new team could beat them so easily and so fast. The Trinity ran out of the arena with their hands covering their tear-stained faces and flushed with embarrassment. We won the rest of the our matches with ease and became the new champions. We celebrated and soon everyone always challenged us. We went home to take a break until the next tournament. That's when I met him..."

FLASHBACK

"Good job Esdraloon," Celia complimented to her blade when it returned to her. Esdraloon glowed a little in thanks and Celia smiled. She launched her blade again and was slightly startled when another blade shot through the bushes and landed in the dish. Celia narrowed her eyes and Esdraloon intensified her attack. The dark gray blade was no match for the white one and was sent flying from the dish. It landed near the bushes where it came from. "Show yourself," Celia demanded harshly, glaring intently. She was about to blow when the figure finally stepped forward from the bushes. It was a boy around her age, maybe a year older than her with dark green eyes and light brown hair. He was a head taller than her and was slightly built. He had on a nervous and slightly sheepish expression on his face.

"Sorry," he said, embarrassed with an apologetic look.

"Explain yourself," Celia commanded with a scowl on her face.

"I just thought you might want some company and have a friendly spar, that's all," he replied quickly, trying to defend himself.

"Hmph! Ever thought of asking? In any case, you're no match for me and I've already obviously proved my point," Celia remarked. She raised her hand and her blade shot right into it. She was about to leave when he stopped her.

"Wait! Could you just give me another shot?" he asked in a somewhat pleading voice.

"Why should I?" Celia questioned back, not turning to face him.

"Because...because I deserve a fair shot and I know I was out of line when I launched my beyblade at yours," he reasoned, hoping he would get a chance.

'I'm gonna regret this,' Celia thought to herself with a slightly annoyed look on her face. She turned to face him and sighed. "Fine. One shot is all you get," she stated, readying her blade. The picked up his blade with a relieved and happy expression on his face. When they were in position, Celia made the count. "3...2...1...Let it rip!" With that, both beyblades were launched. Neither made the first move as they just analyzed each other. Then he made the first move and attacked. Celia decided to wait it out until she saw what he was really made of.

"Go!" he yelled, bringing on his assault. His technique changed and his blade began to attack at all angles. Celia narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She decided that she should attack back or else she would lose.

"Attack Esdraloon!" The white blade powered up and attacked head on with the dark gray blade. Sparks flew as the blades clashed. Neither blader took notice of the sparks, too intent on the battle. They exchanged blow for blow, trying to see an opening. Then Celia saw it. She attacked straight on and knocked his beyblade right out of the dish. The dark gray beyblade landed right by his feet not moving. The white blade returned to the owner's hand. The boy just picked up his blade and smiled at her.

"Thanks for giving me a chance. Now I know how much harder I need to work," he said, putting his blade in his pocket. Celia just shrugged. For the second time that day, he stopped her from leaving. "Hey, I--" he was cut off when she spoke.

"Nice battle. Glad to see that there is actually some decent competition left around here. You most likely know my name. What's yours?" she questioned, glancing at him from over her shoulder. He seemed surprised at her sudden compliment and question but soon shook out of it.

"My name is Jamie and thank you," Jamie responded with a still surprised look on his face.

"Not a problem. Maybe we'll see each other again," she replied with a slight smirk. With that, she left him standing there all alone.

END FLASHBACK

"That's how we first met. Ironically enough, we did meet each other again and began to actually hang out," Celia said with a faraway look in her eyes. Kai, who had been silent the whole time just looked at her expression. He looked away with a slightly saddened look on his face. "I introduced him to the others and we all became good friends. Then the next thing I knew, were going out," she said with slight smile. Kai saw this and was slightly saddened even more.

"Did you like him?" Kai asked suddenly, wanting to know the answer. Celia was surprised at the question and looked at him. He wasn't looking at her but waited for her answer. She looked down and nodded slightly. Kai became a little bit jealous of the guy named Jamie.

"I guess at the time I did like him but it never really went as far as love now that I think about it," she replied with a thoughtful look on her face. Kai smile inwardly at her confession. "Although at the time I did think that I loved him but I was only 12 or 13 at the time."

"So what happened?" Kai asked. He felt her stiffen a bit and looked at her worriedly. He noticed her expression saddened a bit. He hugged her closer to him to reassure that it would be okay. After a few seconds, she resumed her story.

"After we got together, Mr. D came and told us that there a tournament coming up soon. Jamie didn't want to be apart from me so he decided that he wanted to come with us. He took on the role as our manager in a way. Mr. D agreed to let him come along. So he came with us to all of our tournaments and I even had him train with us to sharpen his skills," Celia said. Her expression turned to one of slightly angered and Kai sensed that. He saw her somewhat angered face and cold narrowed eyes.

"After a few weeks, he started to change. He became...I don't know. I guess you could say more possessive of me. I hardly had any time to myself and then spent less and less time with my teammates. The only actual time I got to spend with them was practice which was only 2 to 3 three hours a day. Then the only other time I got to see them was when they were asleep. When I tired of this, I confronted his about it..."

FLASHBACK

"Jamie, I need to talk to you," Celia stated to her boyfriend with a serious expression on her face.

"What's the matter?" Jamie questioned, picking up one of the new parts that he had bought earlier. They were currently in his room, up-grading his beyblade. Celia was currently calculating the spin ratio and looking at the gears.

"Well, we've been spending a lot of time together and you've even been keeping me from my own teammates," Celia began and moved her attention toward him.

"What's wrong with that?" Jamie asked with a innocent look on his face with a slight shrug.

"I want you to stop being so possessive of me as if I'm your possession and let me be with my team," she argued slightly back at him.

"You are mine," he countered with a slight growl.

"What?!" she exclaimed, jerking away from him. Her face was full of shock and rage. She looked at him through narrowed eyes with fire burning within them. "Who gave you the right to claim me as yours?!"

"You were mine when we first met," he said with a smug look but was getting angry at her defiance. She stood up in anger and he followed suit.

"When have you been so arrogant? You have never been like this until a few weeks ago. Why have you suddenly started acting this way?" she yelled at him. He didn't respond to her questions. She grew angrier at each passing second and finally couldn't stand it any longer. She began to make her way toward the door which was unfortunately blocked by him. He stopped her by grabbing her arm in a fierce grip as she was walking past him.

"Where are you going?" he growled at her, whipping her in front of him. He scowled at her when she tried to pull her arm away. She winced slightly when he tightened his grip.

"I'm gonna go back to my room and wait for the girls," she responded with a scowl equal to his. "Now let me go!" she exclaimed, still trying to get out of his grasp. His grip tightened even further and she desperately tried to loosen his grip. She began to hit his arm but he refused to let her go. Instead he opted to throw her into the nearest wall. She hit the wall hard and slid down to the ground, pain taking over her senses. He advanced toward her and punched her in her face. She yelled out in pain and looked for anything to defend herself, wishing that she had brought her blade with her. Fear and panic rose when nothing was close enough for her to use. She felt hot liquid beginning to run down her face, not only tears but crimson red blood as well.

"You are not going anywhere until I say so," he barked angrily and began to abuse her again. He kicked her fiercely in her stomach over and over again. He also began to slam his foot onto her leg so she wouldn't be able to run away if given the chance. He kept up with his assault and she was hit at every area possible. With each hit she let out a strangled cry, hoping beyond hope that someone would hear.

"That was a good movie," Sophie commented to her companions. Julie and Karen nodded in agreement.

"Too bad Celia couldn't go with us," Karen said with a melancholy expression on her face.

"Don't' worry girls. Maybe she'll join us next time," Mr. D reassured the sad group. They were currently making their way to their rooms. Their heads shot up when they heard a cry followed by what sounded like shattering glass and more screaming.

"Celia!" the girls exclaimed, instantly recognizing the desperate cries. They ran toward the room where the cries and noise was coming from and saw that it was Jamie's room. Each of the girls took out their newly up-graded beyblades and launchers while Mr. D was speaking on the phone, talking with the police.

"Ready?" Julie questioned to Karen and Sophie who were readying their blades. They nodded in response and Julie kicked open the door. They rushed in and immediately saw their fallen friend and captain on the floor, writhing in pain, covered in blood. Julie was the first to respond by fiercely launching her blade aiming right at Jamie. Karen and Sophie soon followed and the three beyblades flew straight at their target creating cuts and tears all over him. He began to move away from the nearly unconscious body and tried to swat away the beyblades. Each girl called out their bit beast and were soon encircling him. The girls quickly made their way toward their fallen friend and tried to keep her awake. Not so long after, authorities and officials piled into the room and arrested Jamie. Medics appeared and gently placed Celia on a stretcher and hurriedly brought her out the room and into the ambulance.

"You won't see the last of me," Jamie snarled toward the three girls before being dragged away by the police.

"Make sure you lock him up securely," Mr. D commanded to the police chief. He nodded in response and hurried off. The chairman turned toward the three scared girls. "Come on girls. We need to get to the hospital quickly," he replied and they nodded and followed him to the limo.

END FLASHBACK

"I stayed in the hospital for several weeks. I had broken bones, cuts and bruises everywhere. It took me a long time but I eventually got better," Celia said a light sniff. She was clutching onto Kai as if her life depended on it while Kai was hugging her closer to him than before and all the while inwardly cursing the idiot to hell and back several times.

'So that's why she told me not to hurt her,' Kai thought, realizing what Julie had meant. He saw silent tears run down her pained face it hurt him to see her this way. He gently wiped away her tears and rubbed her arm in reassurance. After a few minutes, she spoke again.

"After that, I vowed that I wouldn't allow anyone that close to my heart again," she said with a slight choked voice. "But I guess the girls and now you guys are an exception," she added with a small smile. "Thank you Kai."

"For what?" Kai asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Everything. Helping me out from the beginning and saving me from Tala and especially listening and comforting me when I needed someone the most," she said honestly with a bit of shyness in her tone. She wasn't looking at him at the moment but if she was, she would have noticed a tint of blush on Kai's cheeks.

"Whatever. Look it's getting late and...uh...you need your rest," Kai said with a slight stutter. He released his hold on her and was about to turn off the light when she grasped his arm. He turned to look at her and saw fear still present in her eyes.

"Could you sleep next to me, if only for one night, please?" she asked somewhat desperately. "I don't feel safe sleeping by myself," she added. Kai sighed and nodded, understanding that she still needed the comfort.

"Just let me change and turn off the light," he replied. She nodded and let him go to do his own business and glad that he didn't refuse. She was secretly longing for his warmth as well as his comfort. She couldn't explain it but she felt warm and safe around him, especially when he was holding her. She smiled to herself and realized that she had fallen for him harder than she realized. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't realized that he was waiting for her to move over to give him some room. She blushed a bit when she saw that he was clad in only a shirt and boxers. When she moved over, he climbed into the bed and turned off the lamp. He tensed a bit when she snuggled up close to him but relaxed when he saw her peaceful face. He wrapped his arms around her once again and made a silent vow to himself, 'I'll always be there for you, no matter what.'

Well there you have it...Celia's past. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think! I'll have the next chapter up soon!

later, kurai hoshi


	13. The Tournament Begins

Well here is the next chapter and so sorry for the delay...I am working on my other story which isn't near as finished as this one...but that's okay......I guess....Anyway on with the fic!

Oh and I don't own Beyblade...

Chapter 12: The Tournament Begins

"Finally! The tournament begins today and I am so stoked!" Tyson exclaimed, catching many of the other bladers' attention toward them.

"Calm down Tyson! We're all excited that it's finally gonna start but you don't have to get too excited," Karen commented, grabbing a hold of him so he wouldn't go anywhere. Everyone except Kai chuckled at them when Tyson just smiled sheepishly at Karen and actually calmed down. The Bladebreakers and Sacred Stars worked hard and narrowly survived Kai and Celia's training for the past month. Despite knowing that they were already ready, both captains kept up their hardcore training schedule until they knew that their team was read for any and everything.

"Kenny, Sophie, have you registered us yet?" Celia asked looking at the two.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Kenny exclaimed, beginning to panic. Sophie just rolled her eyes and nodded, indicating that she did. She held a slightly questioning look toward Ray who just smiled.

"Attention, all teams please head toward the arena. I repeat, all teams head toward the arena at this time," the announcer said over the intercom. The crowd began to cheer loudly as the teams came in, especially loud when the Bladebreakers and Sacred Stars came in. All the teams began to make their way toward their designated spot and waited.

"Hello and welcome everyone to the first ever DuoBlade Tournament! This is the tournament that everyone around the world has been waiting for! Now let's introduce our paired up teams that are competing in this tournament," DJ Jazzman said, standing on his platform above the stadium. Most of the lights were dimmed and crowd was cheering as loud as ever. "First we have the Lightning Storm and Divine Winds. Next are the FireBlazers and Gaia Girls. Then we have the Circuitbreakers and Tsunami Sisters. Then the Heartbreakers and Wisterias. Next are Seraphim and Cherubim, the singing sensations in the blading world. The Demolition Boys and the Trinity have paired up for this competition. European champions the Majestics and Mystics are here to take the tournament. However, all the teams' greatest competition would be this hardcore pair, the Bladebreakers and Sacred Stars," he announced the teams and spotlights shown on each group.

"Hi everyone! Brad Best here along with AJ Topper to bring you the viewers the action," Brad Best announced.

"That's right Brad. Now we're about to find out who will battle who. This will be the first time the teams will see who they're gonna go against," AJ Topper said.

"All right everyone, we have randomly selected the line up and here they are," Jazzman said gesturing toward the jumbo screen. All the team captains' pictures showed up, revealing who against who. "First up today we the Bladebreakers and Sacred Stars vs. the Heartbreakers and Wisterias. Second round is Seraphim and Cherubim vs. Lightning Storm and Divine Winds. Third we have the Majestics and Mystics vs. Circuitbreakers and Tsunami Sisters. Finally we have the Demolition Boys and the Trinity vs. FireBlazers and Gaia Girls. First round teams, please get ready for battle and other teams please the arena," Jazzman stated. All the teams left except for the Heartbreakers, Wisterias, Bladebreakers, and Sacred Stars who went to their benches which were on opposite sides of each other.

"Celia you okay? You look kinda pale," Ray commented with a frown, looking at her closely. Celia was indeed paler and looked slightly nervous at the moment. She tried to shake it off and put on her normal mask to hide how she was truly feeling. At the moment, only her teammates actually knew why she was acting that way. Kai raised an eyebrow at seeing the slight concern on the girls' faces and looked at Celia. Her usual mask was put on but he could see it in her eyes that she was nervous about something. Kai decided to pull her aside and see what the problem was.

"Celia, come with me," Kai said, motioning for her to come with him away from the team. She nodded and walked with him a few feet away from the bench. They were facing each other but Celia hung her head low while Kai waited to see if she would talk first. After about a minute of not talking, Kai decided to talk first. "What's the matter? You weren't like this earlier," he asked, his face showing no emotion but the tone in his voice denied how he was really feeling.

"He's here Kai," Celia responded not looking up at him.

"Who's here?" Kai replied back with a questioning look. He was surprised when she looked up at him with slightly glazed eyes. He would have comforted her right then but restrained himself.

"Jamie," she managed to choke out. Kai's eyes widened slightly at hearing that and looked over to the other team and indeed saw a blond haired, green eyed guy. He clenched his fists slightly, remembering what she told him so many nights ago.

"Look, you're gonna have to stand up to him sooner or later. Show him you're not the same person you were back then," Kai encouraged while still keeping up with his straight face. Inside, he was about to explode. He hated to see her like this and wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and protect her from everything.

"I don't know if I can do it alone," Celia said trying her best not to break down and reveal herself.

"Hmm..." Kai made his way back to the bench and went to Ray. "Ray, you're not gonna blade with Celia, I will," he informed the dark haired teen. Everyone had a surprised look on their face, especially Celia.

"Why?" Ray asked, wanting to know the reason but secretly already having an idea why.

"I have my reasons," Kai simply said.

"But we haven't even practiced together. How are we gonna be able to blade together? Plus you're listed as a substitute and clearly Ray isn't injured enough of to sit out," Celia reasoned, understanding why he was doing this but he also needed to think about the tournament.

"We'll manage. I can always tell Dranzer to follow you and vise versa. Besides, I'm the leader of this group and my way goes," Kai reasoned back, wanting to have this arrangement. Celia saw it in his eyes and sighed in defeat. Little did they know that when Sophie had registered them, Ray had asked her to put him as the substitute.

"Fine, have it your way," Celia said. She didn't show it, but she was really glad that Kai was willing to help her out in facing Jamie. The others had questioning looks but didn't ask when Kai gave them a glare. He sat down at one end of the bench and pulled up one knee and rested his arm on it while his other was at his side. Celia, putting up a brave and emotionless front before she sat down next to him. Only Kai noticed that she was fidgeting slightly, knowing that she was nervous, not about the tournament but about facing her ex-boyfriend that abused her not so long ago. In an effort to calm her nerves, he placed his hand on top of hers that was out of the others' view. She looked at his hand on hers and then at Kai with a very slight smile on her face. He gave her the reassurance she needed when she looked into his eyes. His face was void of emotion but his eyes said everything that she needed.

"All right! Will the first bladers please approach the dish," Jazzman said looking at both teams and waiting for the bladers come. Max and Julie shared a smile before going toward the dish and met their opponents, Stephan and Mia.

"Okay let's check some stats. Stephan from the Heartbreakers is more of the attack type and with his coyote bit beast, Rujing, he's able to deliver a fierce attack. His partner Mia is more of the endurance type and her seal bit beast, Chicanry, gives her the edge," Brad Best said, informing the people of the bladers stats.

"But that doesn't mean you can cut Max and Julie short. Max and his bit beast Draciel have some hardcore defense that is nearly impossible to penetrate. His partner Julie however is the total opposite of his style, an all out attacker and her black wolf bit beast Eczelon will send chills to her opponents with her ice attacks," AJ Topper said.

"All right bladers take your positions," Jazzman said looking at both pairs. Stephan and Mia readied their blades with a smirk that showed that they were confident while Max and Julie got ready with an emotionless face, not giving away anything. "In 3...2...1...Let it rip!" At that four blades were launched into the classic bowl dish and circled each other, each waiting for someone to make the first move. Being the impatient type, Stephan made the first move wanting to get the match over with.

"Rujing, attack now," Stephan commanded, pointing toward Julie's blade. She waited for his attack and anticipated it. At the last moment it dodged the attack and then began to attack it from behind.

"Chicanry, get in there!" Mia exclaimed and her blade advanced toward the lavender blade but was stopped short when a green blade knocked her out of the way.

"Not so fast. Draciel go!" Max shouted, telling his blade to attack the pale yellow one. Each were in their own battle, concentrating solely on their opponent. Julie decided to attack, wanting to get the match over with.

"Eczelon, Freeze Swipe attack. End this now," Julie commanded and her blade complied. The air around the dish became slightly chilled when the lavender blade began to spin faster and with lightning speed, made its way toward the red blade. On impact, the red blade started to freeze and soon was covered in ice. With a final hit, it was sent flying out of the dish. Stephan had a shocked look on his face at being beaten and just stood there, not able to do anything. Mia began to panic and lost focus. It was at that moment that Max sent her blade flying out of the dish.

"And the winners of the first match are Max and Julie!" Jazzman exclaimed, pointing toward the two bladers. Both bladers just smiled and went back to the bench after getting their blades. "Will the next bladers please come up to the dish?" Jazzman asked. Karen calmly stood up from the bench and smiled at seeing Tyson jump off from his seat. They approached the dish and met their opponents, Evan and Riley.

"Now let's check their stats. Evan and Riley are they captains of their teams and with Evan's fox bit beast Daijing and Riley's water sprite bit beast Peonal, they are going to get a victory. But Karen and Tyson aren't gonna let them push them around and with both having dragon bit beasts, Dragoon and Entranza, they are bound to make one deadly pair," Brad Best announced, telling the people of their stats.

"Bladers, are you ready?" Jazzman asked. All four bladers readied their launchers with a serious expression. "In 3...2...1...Let it rip!" Once again four blades were launched into the dish. The outcome however was very much the same as the last. Both Tyson and Karen were able to isolate their opponents' blades and take them out in no time. "Bladebreakers and Sacred Stars take the second match!" The crowd was cheering at the sheer power and speed that they were showing. "And now for the final match, bladers please step forward," Jazzman stated, waiting. Kai stood up and waited for Celia who was a bit hesitant but stood, not showing any emotion as was Kai. They met their opponents at the dish and Celia's old fear rose once again at seeing Jamie after so many years but shook it off. At that Jamie smirked.

"Long time no see, Celia," Jamie greeted with the smirk still present.

"Yeah, I wished that it would have stayed that way too," Celia shot back with a glare on her face.

"I'm hurt, truly I am," Jamie said sarcastically with a mock hurt expression.

"All right bladers, ready?" Jazzman asked, looking at both sides.

"You'll be hurting more when we're through with you," Celia spat, voice dripping with venom while readying her blade. Kai followed suit and stayed quiet the whole time. Jamie and his partner, Whitney, got ready as well.

"Bladers, in 3...2...1...Let it rip!" Four blades landed in the dish and circled each other, anticipating and waiting for the first move.

"You haven't changed a bit," Jamie remarked with a teasing smile. " The same weak and naive girl that I met so long ago," he added with an arrogant smirk. Fire flared up in Celia's eyes and her anger seemed to boost her blade even more. "Yup, the same pathetic, helpless girl that came running to me," he sneered. His blade came to life and began to attack her blade ruthlessly, not leaving her any room to retaliate. Shock appeared in her eyes as she clenched her teeth together. She noticed that he had gotten a lot stronger since the last time she had seen him and his bit beast just boosted up his power. She was beginning to lose it, not being able to focus with Jamie's taunting and her own emotions jumbling her concentration. She shut her eyes, willing the threatening tears not to fall.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Kai growled, eyes not leaving sight of Whitney's blade. Celia jerked her vision toward Kai with a slight surprised look on her face.

"Kai?" Celia looked at him with a confused expression.

"Show him that you've changed and that you're more than capable of taking care of yourself," Kai encouraged to the slightly distraught girl. He spared her a reassuring glance that made Celia smile. Concentrating on the task, determination began to flare in her eyes. She looked at Jamie and he was slightly taken aback at the sudden change.

"I'm not the same person I used to be Jamie. I've changed and I'll show you how. Esdraloon, take him down," Celia commanded to her white blade. It instantly flared to life and attacked the dark gray beyblade. The tables turned and Esdraloon was not allowing him time to attack back.

"Dranzer, finish this girl off now," Kai demanded. Dranzer complied and sent her blade flying out of the dish. Kai then turned his attention toward the dark gray blade who was getting the beating it deserved. Celia took the time to glance at Kai and gave him an offering gesture. He nodded and looked back at the dish.

"Esdraloon/Dranzer, finish him off," Kai and Celia said at the same time. Both white and blue blades sped toward the opposing blade and with great force, knocked it out of the dish. The dark gray beyblade shattered to pieces and showered a shocked Jamie, not believing that he lost.

"Oh and for the record, you came to me, not the other way around," Celia stated with a smirk.

"And the win goes to Kai and Celia, and with three straight wins, the Bladebreakers and Sacred Stars advance to the semi-finals!" Jazzman exclaimed to the wild crowd. Kai and Celia walked back to their team, leaving a defeated Jamie behind. Karen, Julie, and Sophie smiled brightly at seeing the relieved and satisfying expression on Celia's face.

"You guys did a great job! Now, how about we go out to eat to celebrate our first victory?" Ray suggested with a smile. Everyone, except Kai, smiled in agreement and decided to stay to watch the other rounds. Later that evening, they went to a nice little restaurant with a simple yet beautiful garden. Mr. Dickenson was glad that the restaurant wasn't all-you-can-eat. Celia wasn't very hungry and ate very little. She excused herself and went out to the garden to get some fresh air. She sat in blissful silence for a minutes when there was a sudden rustle in the bushes behind her. She stood and turned around quickly, ready to take out her blade if she needed. She raised an eyebrow at seeing the least person she expected.

"What are you doing here Jamie?" Celia asked with slightly narrowed eyes.

"I just...wanted to see you and...to apologize," Jamie responded in a hesitant voice. He hung his head low, feeling too ashamed and guilty for what he did to her to even look at her. She clearly showed him that she had changed and moved on to become a much stronger person.

"Why would you want to see me?" Celia asked, still wary of his actions.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you so long ago. I knew that you were right and I was smothering you, I just wanted to keep you for myself. I was being selfish," Jamie explained. "I honestly don't know why I would do that to someone I cared so much about. I know that you still probably hate me and that's understandable, but all I ask is your forgiveness and even that is asking too much in itself," he finished in a slightly pleading tone. Celia wasn't sure what to do. Sure he apologized to her but was he sincere? She wasn't sure. It was then that he looked at her straight in the eyes. She was surprised to see that his eyes were glazed over and showed that he was indeed sincerely sorry. Celia gave him a small soft smile.

"I hope that I won't regret it when I say that I accept your apology," Celia said in a slightly softer yet teasing tone. Jamie's eyes widened and then broke out into a thankful smile. He would have hugged her but was unsure if she would appreciate that.

"Thank you and you won't regret it," Jamie said in a relieved voice. His smile brightened at seeing her smile again. They began to feel slightly uncomfortable with each other and Jamie was a bit nervous. "You know, what I said was true," he said. She gave him a questioning look, wondering what he meant. "That I cared a lot about you. When I was arrested, I thought the feeling faded, but seeing you again made the feeling come back," he replied sheepishly. He had a light blush rising to his cheeks. Celia eyes widened and understood where he was getting at.

"I'm sorry Jamie, but we can't just pick up where we left off. I've moved on and to tell you the truth, I think I've fallen for someone else. No names though," Celia responded with an apologetic look. Jamie just gave her an understanding nod and small smile. "We could still be friends," she offered with a small cheerful smile. His smile brightened and gave her a small grateful hug. He didn't want to be apart of her life. She returned it and pulled away. The said good bye to each other, leaving the small garden in two separate directions.

Unknown to them, a figure was watching and listening to them the entire time. He was worried that she hadn't returned after a good few minutes. He went looking for her and found her talking to Jamie. He was surprised that she had forgiven him so easily but then became curious and slightly hopeful when she said that she had fallen for someone else. He hoped that it was the person he was thinking of...but of course Kai wouldn't admit that to anyone except himself.

Well there you have it...the beginning of the tournament. Surprisingly enough...this story is actually coming to an end...only about three more chapters to go.................YES!!!!!!!!! cough cough Uh...I mean to bad, huh? Well, don't forget to review and see what happens in the next chapter.....

later, kurai hoshi


	14. An Interesting Challenge

Well here it is...another chapter for you...sorry that it took so long...a temporary writer's block and some other stuff that's been on my mind...but enough of me blabbing...go on and read the chapter!

I don't own anything except for my characters...

Chapter 13: An Interesting Challenge

"I can't believe it! This bites!" Tyson exclaimed angrily, throwing a tantrum as if he was a 5 year old.

"Relax. All we have to do is be prepared for who we could be up against," Ray said, trying to calm him down.

"Ray's right. The main reason they do this is because they want to make it tougher on us. We should expect the unexpected," Sophie stated logically. She received nod of agreement from some of the members around her. "Now, we know the teams that could be our opponents. They are the Majestics and Mystics, Seraphim and Cherubim, and the Demolition Boys and Trinity. We know some things from certain individual teams. Since you boys went against the Majestics and the Demolition Boys, we have some idea on how they blade. We've went against the Trinity and add to that the matches we saw yesterday. The shady group right now is Seraphim and Cherubim," she informed, looking at her laptop.

"Sophie's right. I've heard that they have a certain way to blade. Something about singing but they usually save it for either the semi-finals or finals," Karen adding her bit from hearing rumors.

"So the possibilities of our next opponents are a singing competition, wits and strength or overcoming the elements. Wonderful!" Tyson exasperated. He flopped down on his seat and sighed.

"Well, that's why we have to be prepared for anything. We didn't train for two months for nothing," Celia commented.

"Will the semi finalists please come to the main arena at this time," Jazzman announced over the intercom. Both teams looked at each other and gathered their things, hoping they were ready to face their opponents. The stadium was jammed packed when they arrived at the arena, fans screaming wildly. The other teams arrived as well and all four paired teams faced each other. Celia was slightly unnerved when a certain red head stared at her with a smirk.

"Welcome everyone to the semi-finals! These four remaining paired teams will be going against each other to see who will face who at the finals the day after tomorrow. Now the line up for today's matches," Jazzman announced, looking at the jumbo screen. Once again the captains' pictures appeared, showing the match ups. "And there we have it! First up are the Bladebreakers and Sacred Stars vs. Seraphim and Cherubim. Then the Demolition Boys and Trinity vs. the Majestics and Mystics. Will the first teams go to their benches and prepare for battle." The said teams went to their appointed benches and began talking amongst themselves. Suddenly, two people from Seraphim and Cherubim approached the closed off dish. They gestured toward Kai and Celia, wanting to have a little chat with them. The two captains complied and approached the supposed captains of the other team.

"What do you want?" Kai demanded coldly first, stoic mask not faltering. The opposing captains didn't seem affected by the cold front. It was obvious that he was not in a very good mood, ever since last night that is. Everyone on the team seemed to think that he retreated to his normal attitude, as if something was bugging him and he didn't want to be disturbed. Celia noticed the most since it was to her he was the coldest to. It hurt but she decided to just give him his space.

"We've come to issue an extra challenge to this beyblade match," the male captain, Stephan, said.

"That is?" Celia questioned with narrowed eyes, already knowing where this was going.

"We challenge you to a singing competition," the female captain, Angela, simply said, eyes flashing challengingly.

"Um...I'm not sure if this is legal so we'll have to ask the judges on this one," Jazzman said somewhat nervously. He turned toward Mr. Dickenson who was with other executives. They were discussing the situation and a few minutes later gave the approval of the challenge. "Alright, the panel has given the okay for this singing competition. Captains, please lay out the conditions for the challenge."

"We'll sing in each battle. Two solo battles and the third will be a duet. Any kind of song you want," Angela said.

"Only if the solos can be either the guy or girl singing," Celia said in a business like way.

"Agreed," Stephan and Angela said in unison. Kai and Celia just nodded and the captains went back to their benches.

"Alright, you will have an extra five minutes to prepare for battle," Jazzman announced.

"Oh man! This is gonna be a hard round," Tyson complained when the two captains returned. They stood in front of the rest of the team, all with thoughtful and slightly worried expressions.

"Relax. We girls can take care of the solos no problem. However, we might have a slight problem with the duet," Karen said, trying to reassure the boys.

"Do any of you boys know any duets?" Celia asked. She received negative answers from Max and Tyson while Ray had a thoughtful look on his face. Kai just didn't say anything and stood there with his arms crossed and eyes closed.

"What about Kai?" Ray asked in realization. This got the said boy's attention with a questioning glare. "You and Celia can sing that one song from when we went to that karaoke restaurant that Karen made us go to," Ray suggested looking at both captains. Celia had a slightly surprised expression with an eyebrow raised while Kai just narrowed his eyes. Everyone nodded in agreement, hoping they would sing the duet. Celia looked at him expectantly, waiting for his reply before giving her own. Kai just closed his eyes again and slightly turned away.

"Hn. Whatever," Kai responded nonchalantly. Everyone broke out into smiles and even Celia gave a small smile. Julie and Max stood up and went to the covered dish. Their opponents approached as well and both pairs received a microphone. They placed them on the ground near the dish as it was being uncovered to reveal the classic bowl.

"Alright bladers, into position. In 3...2...1...Let it rip!" At that, all four bladers launched their blades. Then Julie and Krystal picked up the microphones. Julie gestured to her opponent to go first. Krystal nodded and soon the crowd started to die down when music began playing. The other three bladers were still looking at the blades circling around each other in the dish. Then Krystal began to sing.

What if I told you

It was all meant to be

Would you believe me

Would you agree

It's almost that feeling

We've met before

So tell me that you don't think I'm crazy

When I tell you love has come here and now

A moment like this

Some people wait a lifetime

For a moment like this

Some people search forever

For that one special kiss

Oh I can't believe it's happening to me

Some people wait a lifetime

For a moment like this

During the time she sang, her blade was acting on emotion and Julie began to retaliate by starting to sing her song.

I'm Standing on a bridge

I'm waitin in the dark

I thought that you'd be here by now

There's nothing but the rain

No footsteps on the ground

I'm listening but there's no sound

Isn't anyone tryin to find me?

Won't someone please take me home

It's a damn cold night

Trying to figure out this life

Wont you take me by the hand

take me somewhere new

I don't know who you are

but I'm, I'm with you

Max and David were holding out their own against each other while the girls sang. Max was slightly saddened by Julie's song and he used that to his advantage and managed to knock David's Zerenos blade out of the dish. It took Julie a couple of seconds after she finished her song to snap back to the bey battle. Using the mood of the song, Julie was able to knock Krystal's blade out of the dish. She gave a slight sigh of relief and gave Max a small smile which was returned brightly.

"And Julie and Max take the first match!" Jazzman announced, making the crowd go wild. The said two winners went back to the team bench and were greeted by smiles and compliments. "Will the next bladers please come forward," Jazzman said. Karen and Tyson stood and went up to the dish as well as their opponents. Microphones were once again handed to each pair and the girls took them and placed them nearby. After the countdown, four blades were launched into the dish. Like Julie, Karen gestured toward the girl, Melanie, to sing first. She nodded and the music began.

Don't you try and tell me that he's not my type

To hide what I feel inside

When he makes weak with desire

I know that I'm supposed to make him wait

Let him think I like the chase

But I can't stop fanning the fire

I know I meant to say No

But he's irresistible

Up close and personal

Now inescapable

I can hardly breathe

More than just physical

Deeper than spiritual

His ways are powerful

Irresistible to me

Melanie's blade reacted to the upbeat singing of its mistress and attacked with amazing speed. Karen fought back as she began to sing.

Moonlight high above the trees

Such a peaceful night it is

By myself I'm sitting here

The memories are clear

Of love I never could reveal

There's a gentle swaying breeze

While my eyes are filled with tears

All the things you couldn't see

The love that I still feel

I never thought you'd ever leave

Silently though all the years

My heart aches cause you're not here

Took for granted you'd be there

I never showed I cared

And now you're only in my dreams

All the time could never heal

What I've lost and what I feel

You were taken far away

And now it's just too late

And fate has sealed my destiny

When Karen finished her song, Tyson began his final attack. "Finish him off Dragoon! Final Attack!" Tyson exclaimed to his faithful bit beast. The blue dragon complied and sent his opponent flying. Karen wasn't too far behind in sending Melanie's blade out of the dish. The crowd went wild at the performances and some were even sniffling at the sad song from Karen.

"And the Bladebreakers and Sacred Stars earn another win!" Jazzman proclaimed loudly. Smiling, Karen and Tyson went back to the bench. Karen looked at Celia with semi melancholic eyes and was met with ebony black full of understanding and gratefulness.

"You two were great," Ray complimented. Karen and Julie just looked away in embarrassment. "I'm serious! I mean at the restaurant you were really good but here you seem so passionate and seem to put real meaning into the songs you sang," he explained his observation. Both girls just smiled at Ray in thanking him.

"Will the final competitors please approach the dish."

With an exasperated sigh, Kai stood from his seat. "Let's get this over with," he said in a bored tone. Celia hesitated for a second before standing along with him and made their way toward the dish. Even though they were already guaranteed a spot in the finals, their opponents seemed smug and confident for the match. Celia concluded that they didn't think that Kai and her could pull off a win, assuming Kai couldn't sing worth anything. When they approached the dish, each person was given a microphone and they placed them on the ground near them. All four bladers got into position and Jazzman began the initial countdown. Mere seconds later, four blades were launched into the dish, anticipating and waiting for some kind of reaction from their masters. Kai nodded toward the opposing captains, Stephan and Angela, to go first. They complied and picked up their microphones just as Kai and Celia were. They prepared themselves for the duet as the music began.

(A/N: I don't normally do this but I figured you could use a little help in trying to figuring out who is singing what part...here's the key: **blah blah = **boy; _blah blah_ = girl; **_blah blah_** = both...on with the story!)

We were strangers

Starting out on a journey

Never dreaming

What we'd have to go through

Now here we are

And I'm suddenly standing

At the beginning with you

No one told me

I was going to find you

Unexpected what you did to my heart

When I lost hope

You were there to remind me

This is the start

****

And life is a road and I wanna keep going

Love is a river I wanna keep flowing

Life is a road now and forever

Wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning

I'll be there when the storm is through

In the end I wanna be standing at the beginning

With you

We were strangers

On a crazy adventure

Never dreaming

How our dreams would come true

Now here we stand

Unafraid of the future

At the beginning with you

****

And life is a road and I wanna keep going

Love is a river I wanna keep flowing

Life is a road now and forever

Wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning

I'll be there when the storm is through

In the end I wanna be standing at the beginning

With you

****

Knew there was somebody somewhere

That belongs in the dark

Now I know my dreams will live on

I've been waiting so long

Nothing's gonna tear us apart

And life is a road and I wanna keep going

Love is a river I wanna keep flowing

Life is a road now and forever

Wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning

I'll be there when the storm is through

In the end I wanna be standing at the beginning

With you

****

Life is a road and I wanna keep going

Love is a river I wanna keep going on (_Starting out on a journey_)

****

Life is a road and I wanna keep going

Love is a river I wanna keep flowing

In the end I wanna be standing at the beginning

With you...

Celia seemed to have a gloomy expression on her face that caught Kai's attention to her. At that moment, her eyes caught his and he saw that they were sad and confused, toward him. She kept up with her little staring contest with him as she began their duet.

Look into my eyes

Why are blind to what is clear

All that I need is simple to see

But you turned cold and I turned weak

Words in the night don't come out right

Now that you think I'm so unkind

I don't know when, how it began

But I know I can't stand this pain

Cause if you only knew (**only knew**)

For you, all that I do

I'd give it all away (**all away**)

To have you in my life always

Lost, feeling unsure

Everything flashes in a blur

Trying to smile, so in denial

All of this time will be worthwhile

Passing the time, nothing seems right

I walk around with my head up high

Hanging with friends, time and again

Waiting for all of this to end

Cause if you only knew (**if you only knew**)

For you, **all that I do**

I'd give it all away (**give it all away**)

To have you in **my life always**

But if you only knew

during the musical part

****

Darling I wish I could erase

This pain I have just won't go away

Cause if you only knew (**if you only knew**)

For you, **_all that I do _**(**_all that I do_**)

I'd give it all away (**all away**)

****

To have you in my life always

But if you only knew

If you only knew

If you only knew

If you only knew

If you only knew...

The whole time they stared at each other, not even noticing that their blades acted upon their emotions. Kai's heart ached at seeing that the words she was singing was actually how she felt. He himself had been sincere in singing his part, directing the lyrics straight to her. They snapped back to the battle before them after hearing a shriek of a bit beast from Angela's blade.

"Dranzer! Flame Sabre!" Kai commanded. At that the legendary majestic red phoenix rose out of the blue blade. A second later the said blade was engulfed by fire and soon knocked out the opposing blade. Esdraloon, although still not coming out of her confinements, wasn't too far behind Dranzer in sending her opponent out of the dish.

"Kai and Celia take the third match and go on to the finals!" At that proclamation, the crowd went crazy, even though some were actually crying because of the last song. The Bladebreakers and Sacred Stars ran up to the two captains and congratulated them, deciding to celebrate. Celia just smiled and Kai just gave a slight shrug in response.

Celia sighed not being able to sleep. She sat up and looked over toward Kai who had his back toward her. She sighed again and got out of bed making her way toward the balcony. She opened the sliding doors and closed it behind her, leaving it slightly opened. She leaned against the railing and looked up and saw that the moon was almost full. Her facial expression softened and a small smile managed to appear on her face.

"What's the matter?" a voice called out, breaking Celia out of her reverie. She looked over her shoulder and saw Kai making his way over to her with his arms crossed.

"Couldn't sleep and needed to think," she responded simply, not looking at him. She wouldn't have been able to look at him without blushing even the tiniest bit. Her heart began to speed up and she hoped that he wouldn't be able to hear it. Kai was faring better than her, being able to fight down a small blush but not the beating of his heart. What he said next surprised her though.

"I was being sincere when I was singing that song," he admitted and just left. When she finally realized what he meant and she smiled. She muttered a small apology and a 'thank you' not knowing he heard.

Well that's it for this round. The finals are up next but not before a little party.....I don't own or made up any of the songs that were in this chapter...if I did, I'd be rich by now...here's a list of the songs that I used in case you were wondering.....

"A Moment Like This" - Kelly Clarkson

"I'm With You" - Avril Lavigne

"Irresistible" - Jessica Simpson

"My Destiny"- Trish Thuy Trang, a Vietnamese singer

"At the Beginning"- Richard Marx and Donna Lewis, from Anastasia

"If You Only Knew"- Trish Thuy Trang and Asia 4, an all boys Vietnamese singing group

Um...if you have any questions or anything or if I messed up some of the wording on one of the songs...tell me in a review and I'll try my best to answer and correct them when I can...I'm gonna be moving in about two weeks so I'll be busy packing and stuff...so I'll won't be able to update anytime soon...but I'll be writing when I can so that I can update soon...well, don't forget to review!

later kurai hoshi


	15. An Unforgettable Night

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!! Is this for real?! Am I really back?! Of course I am! I would never abandon you readers!

So sorry that it took me sooooo long to update. Of course there was the problem that I was moving, then getting settled in, then going to a new school, having tons of hard homework, and a slight writer's block. But other than that, I gave in every minute of my time to writing this chapter just for you..... so enough with me and read it!!!!!!!

I most definitely do not own Beyblade.....wish I did though....  
  


Chapter 14: An Unforgettable Night

"What the hell is this?" Celia questioned when she saw a notice taped on the door of her room. Kai and her were about to head out to breakfast before Celia stopped. She took off the notice and saw the BBA insignia on the back of the envelope. With Kai looking over her shoulder, Celia opened the envelope and noticed it was some sort of formal invite. "I don't believe this!" Celia moaned after reading the contents. "Well, looks like no training today," she said facing Kai. He just rolled his eyes in annoyance of the letter. Both of them headed out to the dining hall and waited for the others to come. They didn't have to wait long. A few minutes later, the whole group came in and sat down at the table with their captains.

"Good morning everyone," Karen said cheerfully. Everyone except for Kai and Celia responded back to her. Ray noticed that the two captains were acting differently than usual.

"Kai, Celia, is something the matter?" Ray questioned with slight concern. Everyone turned toward them at the question with curiosity on their faces.

"The extra training is cancelled for today," Kai stated unemotionally. Everyone widened their eyes at the statement, wondering what could be wrong. They thought Kai and Celia would have wanted to train seeing as the finals were the next day.

"What do you mean Kai? Wouldn't it be good for us to train before the final match?" Tyson questioned, raising a couple of eyebrows.

"We would have trained today but something came up," Celia explained. "All team have been invited to go to a ball but it's mandatory for team captains and it's mandatory formal wear," she finished explaining.

"So the reason training is cancelled..." Sophie trailed off, looking at her teammates with a smile.

"...is because we have to go shopping!" Karen exclaimed with excitement. She and Mariah glowed with happiness while everyone else shook their heads is disbelief.

"This is gonna be a long day," Celia groaned.

"Come on you guys! You mean to tell me that none of these dresses interests you at all?!" Mariah complained to the four girls in disbelief.

"They just don't seem to catch our eye," Karen explained, looking through a rack of dresses. The other three girls agreed and Mariah just sighed.

"Mariah, do you plan on getting that gown?" Celia asked, glancing at the white dress in the pink haired girl's arms. Mariah followed her gaze and smiled brightly.

"Of course! I love this dress!" Mariah exclaimed.

"Alright then. Let's pay for it and get out of here," Celia said, making her way toward the register. The others followed her lead and Mariah placed the dress on the counter. The clerk rang up the dress and Celia handed her what looked like a credit card. The clerk carefully wrapped the dress in a box and placed it in a bag, handing it to Mariah. With a simple "Thank you" they left the shop and went to the shop next door where the boys were being fitted into their tuxedos. They noticed that Kai and Ray were already done and the others were finishing up.

"How's it going?" Celia asked Ray who was standing nearby.

"Everything's fine except for the question of who's going to pay for all of this," Ray said with a sheepish look.

"Don't worry about it. I"ll take care of it," Celia assured with a small smile. Kai heard what she said and wondered how she would be able to pay for anything. Tuxedos and gowns weren't exactly cheap. He narrowed his eyes and decided to ask her later.

"Hey girls! Have you all picked out a dress yet?" Tyson asked with a bright smile on his face.

"Not really. We wanted to look around some more. Since you guys are done, I guess it's okay if you just take a walk around the city. That is if it's okay with Celia and Kai," Karen suggested. The boys just looked at eh two captains and smiled when they saw them nod in agreement.

"The ball starts at eight tonight. Be ready to go by then," Kai stated. Everyone nodded in understanding. A clerk approached them with five boxes.

"Is this all you guys need?" Celia questioned, looking at the boys. All of them nodded and Celia just handed the clerk her credit card. Each of the boys took their labeled box and waited for Celia to pay for their tuxedos. After she was done they all left the shop. After saying their farewells, the girls made way to another shop while the guys went elsewhere. Celia was behind the others, taking the time to see the sights. They were then passing by a jewelry shop when something caught her eye. She looked into the window and saw the prettiest necklace she had ever seen. It wasn't extravagant but was simple and yet beautiful.

It had a silver circular charm the size of a nickel. In the center were five sapphire studs that took the shape of a star and was around a single diamond stud that was in the very center. On both sides were small wings etched onto it and a simple silver chain to complete it. She had a look of longing on her face but shook her head to quickly rid the thought of actually buying it. She made her way back toward the others but unknown to her someone was watching her the whole time. He looked into the window at the very spot where she just stood and didn't need to think about which one she was looking at. He quickly went inside the jewelry shop and moments later the jeweler took the necklace away from the window display and placed it in a box for the young man.

"Man! What's taking the girls so long?!" Tyson whined to the other guys. He along with the others were already dressed, ready to go. Tyson himself was in his dark gray tuxedo with a white shirt, black vest, bow tie and shoes. He got rid of his red and blue cap for this one night and instead tied a black bandana on his head.

"Relax Tyson. You know how girls are. Don't worry, we'll make it in time," Max reassured, sitting in his smoke gray tuxedo. He too had a white shirt underneath with a slightly darker smoke gray vest, and black tie and shoes.

"Yeah Tyson, Celia won't make us late," Ray said who was in his white tuxedo. In opposition to the others, he had on a black shirt on with a white vest and tie but had black shoes. Kenny nodded in agreement and was somewhat uncomfortable in his light gray tux. He had on a white shirt with a black vest, tie and shoes, just like Max and Tyson. Kai was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets of his black tux. Instead of a white shirt, he opted for a silver grayish color that didn't need a tie and a black vest and shoes. Also, he had a silver grayish handkerchief in his jacket pocket. As always, he appeared the calmest out of the group but truth he wanted the girls to hurry up so the night could be over with.

"That's right I wouldn't," a voice called out from the staircase. The boys' attention was turned toward the five girls at the top of the staircase. Four out of the five boys had a dazed expression on their faces. Kai remained the same on the outside but on the inside, he was as dazed as the others. All of the girls just smiled at their expressions. Celia was dressed in a simple silver gown with only a left strap and silver strapped shoes. She had two silver clips that pulled up some of her hair and the rest was down with loose strands framing her face. With white-eye liner and silver eye shadow and lip-gloss while simple small silver loops graced her ears along with a silver chain bracelet, she was all set to go.

"You boys should snap out of it before you freeze up like that," Karen mused, wearing her strapless baby blue dress. Her hair was pulled back halfway with white ribbons in her hair with the occasional curl and curled strands framing her face. Her make up was the same as her leader except being baby blue. She also had a teardrop necklace and earrings that matched with it. Julie stood next to her, a smile on her face. She was wearing a lavender dress with a thick right strap and a spaghetti strap on the left. Her hair was pulled up into a French twist, wisps of hair framing her face. With lavender make up and an orchid color choker with a star charm on it and small chandelier earrings, she was a sight to behold. Sophie also had an amused expression on her face. She was wearing her baby pink dress that had straps that was slightly off the shoulder. Her short hair was left down and parted off to the left side and had two small berets holding the left side of her back. She had on a chandelier necklace and studded earrings with white and baby pink make up.

"Yeah and besides, we're gonna be late if we late you just stand there and gawk at us," Mariah replied with a smirk. She was in a white spaghetti strap dress, her hair done up in its usual ponytail but had white streaks in it and held up with a white ribbon. She made her way toward Ray and grabbed his hand in hers and led the way toward their awaiting limo. Everyone followed the couple, Kai and Celia bringing up the rear. They didn't have the wait long and arrived at their destination. Kai got out first and shocked everyone inside, especially Celia when he offered his hand to help her out. She accepted his hand with a shy smile and got out with his help. They went inside the two-story room, which was a dining hall. They were guided to their table and all sat down. Soon a waitress took their orders and began chatting about the finals that were going to happen the next day.

"You know, after dinner we're gonna have to go up stairs," Sophie informed to the group.

"What for?" Max questioned with a puzzled look on his face.

"Yeah. What's upstairs?" Tyson asked after he swallowed his mouth full of food.

"Upstairs is the ballroom where we can mingle around with the other teams," Kenny explained briefly. "Not only that but the captains are gonna have to do a little ballroom dancing," Kenny added on.

"Ballroom dancing? Good thing it's only for captains though, but I doubt Kai would be able to take the first three steps," Tyson joked with a smile. Kai quirked an eyebrow at what he said. He wasn't bothered by Tyson's comment because he would prove him wrong when it was time.

"Hmm...I don't know Tyson. Something tells me that Kai is more than capable of handling ballroom dancing," Ray remarked then looked toward the said captain. Kai just sat back and shut himself away from the group. Dinner went by smoothly and soon it was time to go upstairs. Kai once again offered his hand to Celia which she shyly accepted and wrapped her arm around his. Everyone except Ray and Julie looked on with surprise and wonder while the two said just smiled knowingly.

"I wonder what that's about?" Tyson whispered to Karen who also had her arm wrapped around his. Karen just smiled knowingly and looked toward Julie and Sophie with happiness in her eyes. The two girls had the same expression on their faces.

"Don't worry about it right now Tyson. All will be revealed in due time," Karen responded and gave him a light peck on his cheek which caused him to blush. They all followed after their captains upstairs to the large and elegantly decorated ballroom. There were several crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the floor reflected the lights coming from them. There was a small orchestra currently playing music near the back of the room. On both sides of the room, tables were set up to serve refreshments. Beyond the tables were large open curtain glass doors that led to the balconies, two doors on each side.

"Hello everyone and welcome," a voice said in a microphone. Everyone's attention turned toward the voice and found none other than Mr. Dickenson himself. Silence filled the room waiting to hear what the chairman had to say. "Thank you to all the teams who participated in this first ever DuoBlade Tournament. You all have made outstanding performances and I was more than satisfied at all the stunning battles. And I congratulate the two teams who have made it this far, the Trinity and Demolition Boys and the Sacred Stars and the Bladebreakers."

At that, everyone applauded the success of the two pair teams. Celia looked around the room and met with familiar dark green eyes that were smiling and shined with happiness. She smiled back and proceeded to look around when she was suddenly me with a pair of turquoise eyes. Her smile faltered and masked her emotions. They stared at each other for a while until Celia was yanked away by Mariah to go to the drink table.

"Come on Celia, I'm bored," Mariah said, dragging the said girl with her the whole way.

"Hey! You're not the only one believe me but I'm the one that has to pay attention!" Celia protested against the pink haired girl. Mariah just rolled her eyes a bit and kept on advancing to the beverage table while keeping a strong hold of Celia. The female captain stopped her futile attempts of yanking her arm free and just allowed Mariah to drag her away while trying to listen to Mr. Dickenson.

"As most of you have found out, there will be a little, friendly ballroom dancing between the captains to show no hard feelings. So, will all captains please come toward the front while everyone else please clear out of the way," Mr. Dickenson announced, looking at the bladers move.

"Hey Mariah, I've got to---" Celia was cut off when someone grabbed her other arm. She slightly tensed when she saw a pale hand. Her eyes trailed up the arm and relaxed when she saw the two tone blue haired captain grasping her and gently pulling on her arm.

"Come on. We've gotta go," Kai said with reluctance laced in his voice. It was obvious he didn't want to do this but captains had to do it to show 'no hard feelings.' He also didn't want to leave Celia for fear of a repeat of what happened a couple of weeks ago. He would just have to keep a sharp eye on her. When they finally reached the front, they waited until everyone cleared away and took their positions.

"Hope you know how to dance," Celia stated with a small smile.

"Hmph! Only to prove Tyson wrong," Kai replied back with a slight smirk. Her smile grew wider as he took her left hand in his right and placed his left on her hip while her right rested on his shoulder. As the music began to play, all of the couples began to dance. Most eyes were on Kai and Celia, surprised to actually see the stoic Bladebreaker captain dancing rather well with his partner. They never broke eye contact and just glided across the dance floor with graceful, liquid-like movements.

"Well Tyson, there you have it. Now pay the man!" Max said with a wide smile. Tyson just grumbled and fished out a twenty dollar bill from his pocket. Max smiled in triumph, putting the money into his pocket.

"When did you guys make a bet?" Karen asked with a raised eyebrow. Both boys just had a sheepish look on their faces. Ray shook his head, amusement on his face. They continued to watch all of the couples dance.

Kai and Celia seemed to be in a world of their own as they continued to dance. Their world didn't last long when they had to switch partners. Kai was a bit reluctant but gave her hand a slight squeeze before letting her go. Celia was a bit reluctant as well and didn't take her eyes off him until someone took hold of her hand and placed his hand on her hip. She jerked her gaze away to turn to her new dance partner and relaxed seeing that it was actually Jamie rather than the re haired Demolition Boy.

"How are you holding up?" Jamie joked with a smile. Celia just rolled her eyes and he had to restrain from laughing out loud. The continued on and pretty soon had to part ways. Jamie released her with a smile and wink and soon had someone else in his arms. No sooner was she swept away as well. She turned to her new partner and her eyes widened. There in front of her was the very person she hoped not to meet with, the red haired captain of the Demolition Boys.

"Good evening, my star maiden," Tala greeted huskily. "I'm happy to have the opportunity to dance with you."

"Believe me, that happiness is only one-sided," Celia responded, hate flaming in her eyes. Tala smirked in amusement, which angered her even more. Silence fell between them as they continued to dance.

Kai on the other hand was having trouble keeping track of Celia. His current dance partner was the Trinity's leader herself, Sidra. She made it painfully obvious that she wanted him, given the fact that she was the one who gave him the small present at the banquet in the beginning. Plus she was constantly trying to close the distance between them, which was pretty far apart. When he was able to get a glance of Celia, he let a low growl escape his throat that startled Sidra. He seethed in anger at seeing the Demolition boy dancing with her with a predatory look on his face. Luckily they were heading toward him so he could see every move that the red head would make. At the final switch, everyone went back to their original partner.

When Kai took hold of Celia once again, he noticed that she seemed tense. He showed worry in his eyes for a brief second and pulled her closer to him, trying to get her to relax. She smiled gratefully and relaxed so she wouldn't worry him anymore. Not long after, the music stopped and so did all the dancing captains. Soon the teams all applauded the captains on a great performance.

"Wonderful! Absolutely splendid! Now all of you have fun and remember that the finals are tomorrow to determine the DuoBlade Tournament Champions," Mr. Dickenson finalized and left the stage. Music began to play again and some people started to dance while others mingled around the refreshment tables.

"Celia we need to talk," Karen said as she and the other girls approached the two captains. All of them had anxious looks on their faces and grabbed her hand and quickly took her away.

"Hey! Wait!" Celia exclaimed in protest. She looked over to Kai with a 'Help me' expression on her face but all he did was smirk and shrug his shoulders. She sighed dejectedly and just allowed the girls to drag her away. When they finally stopped, they all turned to look at her with expectant looks on their faces. "What?" Celia questioned after they didn't say anything for a while.

"You know what. How was it?" Mariah asked, patience wearing thin. The others looked on and waited for her answer. Celia just sighed, knowing that she would not be released until she answered their questions.

"Honestly," Celia began, masking her emotions. Then she broke out into a small smile. "It was amazing," she finished with a faraway look in her eyes. The girls squealed in excitement at hearing her answer.

"Who was a better dancer?" Sophie asked, curious to know. The others quieted to listen to her answer. An eyebrow was raised, looking at all of their faces.

"Why should I tell you? That's none of your business," Celia responded with a hint of annoyance laced in her voice.

"Oh come on Celia! You can tell us," Karen pleaded, urging her captain to answer. Celia turned her back to them and looked over her shoulder at them.

"If you must know, it was a certain two tone blue haired captain who was the best," Celia said and walked away, leaving the girls with wide smiles on their faces.

Celia smiled despite of herself. She wasn't lying to them when she said that the blue haired captain was the best. She walked out onto one of the balconies that was unoccupied and went up to the ledge and leaned on it, looking up at the crescent moon that shown in the midnight blue sky. She knew that she shouldn't be there alone but she couldn't help herself. She needed fresh air and time to think. Unknown to her, someone was watching her, hidden in the shadows.

Kai stayed back, hiding in the shadows best he could, not wanting Celia to spot him. When she had gotten dragged away by the girls, he had followed but stayed out of sight and listened in. He was a little surprised at what they questioned her and was further surprised with her responses. He was especially surprised with her departing comment and soon followed after her. He was currently just watching her, not wanting to disturb her moment of peace.

"Kai I know you're there. You can come out now," Celia said, shocking the said boy. She hadn't even turned around and she knew of his presence. He came out of the shadows and walked up to her, leaning on the ledge next to her.

"How did you know?" Kai asked, curious to know her answer.

"Esdraloon told me. Dranzer gave you away," Celia replied and looked at him with a smirk. Kai growled in annoyance and her smile grew. "Do you need something?"

"No. I thought you would have learned your lesson by now to not be alone," Kai responded, not giving away any emotion. Celia went back to looking at the night sky and relaxed a bit.

"I know but I have Esdraloon with me this time. She won't let it happen a third time," Celia assured. "Plus I know that you're always watching out for me," she finished with a small smile. They were silent as they just stood in each other's company. After a few moments, Celia sighed and stood up straight. "Guess we better be getting inside. Don't want the others to worry about us," she said and turned to leave when a hand grabbed her wrist. She stopped and turned to look at Kai with a questioning glance. He didn't say anything. Then he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a black velvet box. Celia turned to him fully with a confused expression on her face when he handed her the box. She glanced at him for a second before opening the box. Her eyes widened in shock at seeing the very necklace she saw earlier on in the day. Still with a questioning, confused expression on her face, she asked, "How? And why?"

Kai didn't answer at first but responded, "Because." It wasn't really a sufficient answer for her but she knew he wouldn't say anything else. He took the necklace out of the box and unclasped it, stepping closer to her. She moved her hair out of the way as put the necklace on her and let it fall back in place when he finished. However, he didn't move away from her, but gently cupped her face in his hands, tilting it upward. Ebony black clashed with crimson as they stared at each other, not knowing they were moving closer to each other. Their breaths mingled as their lips were barely an inch apart.

Kai hesitated, not knowing if she wanted this. Celia noticed that Kai didn't move any further as if not sure to move in or not. She made the decision for him and moved in for the kiss. He was surprised at first but soon responded to the gently sweet kiss. His arms moved to wrap around her waist as her arms wrapped around his neck. His grip around her tightened, bringing her even closer to him.

After a few moments, their lungs protested for air and they pulled away, resting their foreheads against each other's. Both were panting heavily with their eyes shut trying to savor the short moment. Kai gripped her even tighter as if she were a dream and would disappear if he let go. They opened their eyes and just stared at each other before Celia rested her head against him, her face at the nape of his neck. He in return gently laid his cheek on top her head. They stayed like that for a few more moments before they reluctantly let go of each other.

"We better get back before something bad happens," Celia said in a soft wistful voice. Kai nodded and together went back inside. Somehow along the way, Celia's hand made it's way to Kai's and they laced their fingers together, giving each other a small smile.  
  


Well hope you liked it. If you readers wanted something with a bit fluff in it.......that was it. Sorry if Kai seems a bit OOC but it's only with her....hehe....

The next chapter is going to be the final one for this story......so if you want a sequel......send in those reviews!!!!!!

Thanks to all and happy reading!

later, Kurai hoshi


	16. The Finale

Well here it is...the final chapter of this story. Sorry it took so long but I hope you all enjoy it all the same.

I'm not rich so.....

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Chapter 15: The Finale

A lone figure stood on the rooftop, looking down on the city below her. A white beyblade was spinning on the ledge, perfectly balanced. No emotions showed on the figure's face but on the inside millions of thoughts were running through her head.

'Today's the day Esdraloon. Are you ready?' Celia thought to her faithful bit beast. The bit chip glowed and its spin intensified.

I've been ready. More than ready mistress. Esdraloon responded into her mistress's head.

'Although we haven't fully mastered out newest attack, I'm sure we'll do fine without it, but you know what to do if we're in a jam,' Celia thought, narrowing her eyes a bit.

Right, I understand. Esdraloon replied with understanding and a little bit of uneasiness.

'Wouldn't want to disappoint the fans Esdraloon. Besides, I wouldn't mind going out with a bang,' Celia thought with a smirk.

We shall give them a battle to remember. Esdraloon squawked proudly, confidence building up.

"Yes we shall," Celia said aloud. She turned and began to walk away, Esdraloon returning to her awaiting hand.

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"Welcome everyone to the DuoBlade Tournament finals. Here we have our two paired team finalists, the Trinity and Demolition Boys and the Sacred Stars and Bladebreakers!" Jazzman announced to the wild crowd. The crowd cheered even louder when the said teams appeared from opposite sides of the arena. They went to their benches and waited for the commencement of the final battle.

"Alright. Most likely Tala and Sidra are gonna take the final match so that means that Celia and ---" Kenny getting cut off by Kai.

"And me," Kai said in a finalized tone. Everyone just looked at him but he just sat back and shut them out. They turned back to Kenny to hear what else he had to say.

"Okay then. It will be captains vs. captains in the final match," Kenny finished looking at his laptop.

"We figure that we should just keep using the same line up as during the whole tournament. We're not sure who will be battling in the first match because they tend to switch around," Sophie informed the group. They nodded in agreement and tried to not appear nervous. The only ones that didn't seem nervous were Kai, Celia and Ray.

"Alright, let's begin the first match. Bladers please step up to the dish," Jazzman announced and waited for the teams to bring out their bladers. Julie and Max stood and made their way toward the dish. They were surprised to see Bryan and his partner, Traci, walk up to the dish. Julie and Max exchanged glances and silently tried to reassure each other. They took out their launchers and blades and saw Bryan and Traci follow suit. "Alright bladers. Ready in 3...2...1...let it rip!"

Four blades were launched at the same time and clashed at the center of the dish. Max's Draciel and Traci's Kamika blade were pushed away while Bryan's Falborg and Julie's Eczelon continued to face each other in the center. Traci's orange blade went after Max's, circling around the dish. Max immediately went on to the defensive, anticipating her attack. Max was doing an effective job of dodging until he felt a gust of wind and heard a groan of pain. He looked over to his left and saw Julie clutching her right arm.

"You won't survive long. You might as well give up now," Bryan said as Falborg delivered another blow. Julie glared at him through narrowed eyes and clenched her teeth to endure the pain. She took blow after blow but finally saw an opening and took the opportunity.

"Go Eczelon. Attack with Ice Crush," Julie commanded and her lavender blade complied. Everyone saw a black wolf rise out of the blade and howled. The wolf jumped and shot a blast of ice at the opposing blade, effectively freezing it and then pounced on the block of ice, shattering it. Falborg screeched and drew back but still held strong. Julie was surprised that he was still spinning strong after her attack and braced herself. She knew that a powerful hit from him would end it for her. She saw him smirk and knew that he knew this as well.

"Falborg, Stroblitz!" Bryan called out to his bit beast. That single attack knocked Julie's blade out of the dish and Julie herself was knocked down. Max saw her fall and it was in that moment that Traci took her chance.

"Kamika, take him down!" Traci commanded and immediately the orange blade knocked out Max's dark green blade out of the dish.

"And the first match goes to Bryan and Traci of the Trinity and the Demolition Boys!" Jazzman exclaimed declaring them the winners. Max immediately went to Julie and helped her up and made their way back to their teammates. Sophie ran up to them to check over Julie's injuries.

"How you holding up?" Celia asked her comrade who was getting bandaged up.

"I'll live. Nothing too serious," Julie assured with a shrug and a half smile.

"We'll take you to the locker room so you can dress her wounds properly," Ray offered. He along with Max, who didn't want to leave her side, helped her up and walked out of the arena to the locker room with Sophie following behind.

"Julie will be fine. Right now we need to finish this," Celia assured. Karen and Tyson nodded and stood up to take the next match. Their opponents on the other side stood as well and saw that it was Spencer and Dixie.

"Next bladers please step up to the dish," Jazzman commanded and waited until they were in place. They each took out their blades and launchers and waited for the countdown. "Alright bladers. In 3...2...1...let it rip!" At that, four blades landed in the dish and just began to circle around, waiting for the first move.

"Been a long time, Karen," Dixie greeted in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Not long enough for me," Karen nearly snarled at her. "Why don't we settle this old score, shall we?"

"Thought you'd never ask. Usano!" Dixie exclaimed and her red blade shot out toward Karen's baby blue one. Karen didn't hesitate and met her at the center of the dish with a clash. They kept attacking each other while Tyson and Spencer started their own battle on the sides of the dish.

"Come on Dragoon! Get him!" Tyson exclaimed to his white blade. Dragoon complied and intensified its attack.

"Seaborg, Voda Impact," Spencer commanded to his blue blade.

"Dragoon, Phantom Hurricane Attack!" Tyson countered before Spencer's attack could fully get him. Karen saw this and used the storm to her advantage.

"Entranza, you know what to do!" Karen said to her blade. Entranza emerged and jumped into Dragoon's storm, lifting her up. "Alright Entranza, Triple Shot!" Entranza roared, using the storm, shot herself at the two awaiting blades, bounced off the rim of the dish and shot at them again. Then using Dragoon as a momentum jumped up back into the air and slammed straight down on the two blades. After the massive attack, Spencer and Dixie's blades flew out of the dish and landed some feet away on opposite sides of the dish.

"Seaborg and Usano are out of the dish. Karen and Tyson are the winners of round two!" Jazzman exclaimed. The crowd roared with cheers at the exciting battle. Entranza and Dragoon roared loudly before retreating back to their confinements of their bit chips and returning back to their masters' hands. They made their way back to the bench, triumphant smiles on their faces.

"Nice work," Celia commented to the pair.

"That final attack was awesome! Good thing I got it all recorded," Kenny said ecstatically. He looked as if he was offered to work at the BBA technicians department. Just then Ray came running back out with a big smile on his face.

"Hey guys that was an awesome match! To add to the good news, Julie is just fine. All she has is minor scratches and a bruise or two," Ray informed. Everyone, except Kai who was in the same position as before, showed signs of relief. The moment of relief was short however as the tension of the final match showed itself. Kai stood up and walked over to the dish with Celia beside him as they met Tala and Sidra at the dish. Celia and Kai had icy glares while Tala had a smirk on his face and Sidra had a flirtatious smile toward Kai.

"Alright! The final match is about to begin. It has come down to captains vs. captains. Bladers are you ready?" DJ Jazzman questioned looking at both pairs. Each blader took out their launchers and got into position. "Here we go in 3...2...1...let it rip!!" At that the four bladers launched their blades fiercely into the dish.

"Whoa nelly look at those blades go! The match just started and already they're going at each other," Brad Best commentated.

"Yeah, this is great! Folks don't leave now or else you'll miss the battle of the century!" AJ Topper exclaimed excitedly.

"Such a pleasure to see you again Celia," Tala greeted with a smirk.

"Can't say the same for you," Celia replied back with a glare. The four blades broke away from each other and were just spinning in place waiting for the initial attack from another. Then Sidra's green blade disappeared from site but Celia just scoffed at her attempt. "Still using the same techniques as last time, huh Sidra?" Celia's white blade moved out of the way right when Sidra's was going to hit her.

"You haven't seen everything I've got. It has been a long while the last time we faced off," Sidra snapped back with a glare.

"You aren't the only one who's learned a trick or two," Celia replied back with an amused smirk. Sidra just glared back hatefully at her rival.

"There seems to be bad tension between the females here," Brad Best declared.

"Well they were pitted against each other in the first round of the All Girls Tournament a year ago," AJ Topper informed. "The Trinity were the champions at the time and were beat badly by the rookie team Sacred Stars."

"Guess they're still competing for being the best female beyblader in the world," Brad Best mused as they turned their attention back to the match.

"How's it looking Chief?" Ray questioned to the little brunette who was recording the whole match.

"It's hard to tell. So far they seemed equally matched. Although Sidra isn't as powerful as the others, Tala makes up for that," Kenny informed.

"So Tala could take on Celia and Kai if Sidra got knocked out?" Karen questioned with a quirked eyebrow. She already knew the answer but she wanted to hear what Kenny had to say about the situation.

"We haven't seen the full extent of their power yet so it's really hard to say," Kenny concluded turning back to the match. The blades were trading blow for blow, each blader trying to use a different tactic to out smart the other. So far the only one outwitted was Sidra who Celia seemed to read like an open book.

"I grow tired of you two delaying the inevitable," Tala growled out. He glanced toward Sidra who nodded in return. He called out his ever faithful bit beast Wolborg while Sidra called out her own canary one Chinami.

"Blizzard of Chaos!" Tala and Sidra exclaimed together. Both bit beasts complied and worked together to perform their attack. Chinami was flapping its wings furiously while Wolborg was creating a massive blizzard. With their attacks together, a fierce snowstorm brewed, nearly affecting everyone in the stadium. Kai and Celia had to shield themselves from the onslaught of snow and some icicles. Celia gave a slight cry when a rather sharp icicle cut her arm. Esdraloon was actually struggling in the storm and Dranzer wasn't doing any better than her. It was a lot stronger than she anticipated and was being zapped of energy just to keep spinning.

"Why don't you two just give up to save yourself from the pain?" Tala taunted, unaffected by the blizzard. Celia glared at the red head with obvious hate in her eyes. Kai was doing the same.

"Dranzer! Melt the ice and snow with Flame Saber!" Kai yelled to his bit beast. Dranzer complied with his master's wishes and emerged from the confinements of the blade. Dranzer tried his hardest but was constantly being pushed aside by Chinami.

Celia saw the situation at hand and thought of only one thing to do. She had to put an end to the blizzard or else something bad could happen. She concentrated and poured her energy out into her white blade to her bit beast. The chip glowed with the energy boost and picked up speed. "Esdraloon! It's time for your grand entrance!" Celia commanded with a smirk.

"Hooky dina, what's going on? Did Celia just call out her bit beast Esdraloon?" Brad Best asked amazed.

"Oh yeah! This is it! This is going down in the history books as the first time Esdraloon will make an appearance in any tournament," AJ Topper informed excitedly.

At Celia's call, Esdraloon responded and emerged from its confinements and revealed itself. Anyone who was able to see saw the majestic outlive of a feminine version of Dranzer, a female phoenix who seemed unaffected by the storm. Kai was amazed that another phoenix even existed besides Dranzer.

"Esdraloon! Firespin Strike!" Celia commanded to her bit beast. Even though they never really mastered the technique, she knew it was her only chance to end the match. Esdraloon began to fly around in a circle while the blade was doing the same. Soon Esdraloon was engulfed in flames, sowing the storm a bit but not fully able to stop it. Celia struggled to stand, being drained of her energy. 'It's not enough. There's something missing but what?' she thought desperately trying to find a solution. She didn't have to look any further when Dranzer joined Esdraloon in circling the dish. Celia looked up to Kai who nodded his head and turned back to the dish.

"Let's finish this," Kai said to her but not facing her. Celia smiled in response and focused once more on the match.

"Firespin Strike!" Kai and Celia exclaimed toward the two phoenixes. Dranzer and Esdraloon screeched in response and were suddenly engulfed in flames as they picked up speed. There was soon a huge pillar of fire in the dish. Wolborg and Chinami caught in the middle. The storm died down and everyone was warming up from the fire produced by the two phoenixes. What they couldn't see in the fire pillar was that Celia and Kai's blades were continuously slamming into Tala and Sidra's. With a final hit, two blades were sent out of the dish through the fire and landed far outside the dish. The fire died down and Dranzer and Esdraloon screeched in victory before retreating back into their blades.

"It's over! The Bladebreakers and Sacred Stars are the DuoBlade Champions!!"

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"Flight 581 to Hong Kong, China will be departing soon. All passengers please board the plane now."

At that announcement, four figures stood from their seats with their carry-on bags and boarded the plane. Despite the earlier victory from the tournament, the four were quite reluctant to leave their partners without so much a word of their departure. With saddened expressions, they took their seats, which were close to each other, two in front of the other two.

"Did we really have to leave them without at least saying good bye?" Karen questioned with a sad look in her eyes.

"Yes. They would have asked questions and wouldn't let us leave," Julie responded although one look in her eyes said that she didn't want to leave the Bladebreakers either.

"I left Kenny my email address so he could try to keep in touch but I didn't say where we were going," Sophie admitted, turning in her seat to face Celia and Julie. Celia was staring out the window, her head perched on her hand.

"I left Tyson a picture of the two of us and a cookie with his and my name on it," Karen admitted with a blush. "I wrote him a note telling him that I had to leave but not where."

"I left Max my necklace and a note as well," Julie confessed.

"It seems that we all didn't want the boys to worry," Sophie said with a smile. Julie noticed that Celia was being unusually quiet.

"What about you Celia? Did you leave Kai a note saying we were leaving?" Karen asked the silent girl. She didn't say anything at first but responded in a quiet voice.

"I didn't need to. He already knew."

They were about to question her when the pilot said to buckle their seatbelts. Celia, keeping her gaze out the window, allowed a single tear to trail down her face. The plane soon took off toward its intended destination.

Unknown to them, a pair of hurt and confused crimson eyes watched the plane leave with a single tear trailing down his face.

--Owari--

That's it! It's done! Can anyone say sequel? I'll let you readers decide.....

Until then, kurai hoshi


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